BROWNWOOD, Texas — In a reversal of the season opener against Howard Payne, Southwestern men's basketball's starting lineup combined to hit half of its 24 3-point attempts to win by double-digits in an 88-76 win over the Yellow Jackets.
Howard Payne limited Southwestern leading scorer Kyle Poerschke to single-digit scoring for the first time this season, but the Pirates compensated with three starters matching or setting career highs.
Jacob Hester led three Pirates in double figures, matching his career-high with 20 points while hitting 4-of-9 3-pointers with five steals. Chris Smith, Jr. and Josh Jones each had 17. Smith matched his career-high in points on an efficient 7-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from deep, while Jones set a new career mark, shooting 50 percent from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. He also added four rebounds, two steals, and two assists without a turnover.
Smith anchored the Pirates in the first half with 11 points on five shots, but Yellow Jackets got 18 points from its bench led by Harold Myart's eight points on 4-for-5 shooting to give Howard Payne a 38-37 lead at halftime.
Southwestern overtook Howard Payne in the first five minutes of the second half, hitting three unanswered 3-pointers to take a 48-45 lead on a Hester long-range shot.
The Pirates reeled off another run triggered by a four-point play on a Jones 3-pointer and free throw to go up 65-56 and spark an 18-8 run to give Southwestern a 15-point lead with 4:57 remaining. Hester did most of his damage in Southwestern's 51-point second half, scoring 13 points and three steals.
Poerschke finished with nine points but found other ways to contribute to the win, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out a career-high six assists.
Myart led three Yellow Jackets in double figures with 13 off the bench. Michael House, Jaylan Ballou, and Frederick Watts each had 12 off the bench.
Southwestern's 88 points and 14 made 3-pointers were both season-highs for the Pirates. Southwestern improves to 2-3 with the win. The Pirates will return home and host Texas-Dallas and Concordia on Saturday and Sunday as part of the inaugural Southwestern Paul Peak Classic.
