GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Southwestern University Pirates men's basketball team buried the Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets under a barrage of 3-pointers, lighting up the Robertson Center like a Christmas tree in an 88-78 victory.
Heading into the game slumping at 32.1 percent from deep, the Pirate offense was sparked by its defense, opening the game with two steals in the first four minutes, sparking a 10-2 run to open the game with two fast break layups.
Early Southwestern defense tilted the floor in the Pirates' favor, getting the offense downhill momentum needed to get into its beautiful flowing attack.
Southwestern's offense whirred to life with the movement of bodies and ball, forcing Howard Payne back on its heels then sending the Yellow Jackets' defense scrambling with side-to-side ball movement; assisting on five of its first seven baskets.
The Pirate bench amplified the early energy with the trio of Trenton Garrett, Preston Hannah, and Joel Martinez entering the game with a 12-6 lead five minutes into the game.
Garrett immediately grabbed an offensive rebound, converting on the put back through contact, Hannah found Brandon Alexander for a layup, and Garrett followed with another offensive rebound and layup for a bench-generated 6-0 run in little over a minute.
Though Garrett's box score contributions topped out at five points, six rebounds (four offensive), two assists, and a block in 15 minutes, his energy seemed to imbue the rest of the lineup.
For most of the first half, the Pirates fired freely with confidence, draining 7-for-16 from 3-point territory while assisting on 11 of their first 16 made baskets.
Luke Hicks led the charge with 12 first-half points on 4-for-5 shooting, including 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point line, Alexander worked his way to seven points on 3-for-7 shooting, and reserve guard Justin McCormack added two 3-pointers in six minutes.
On the other side of the court, the Yellow Jackets also moved the ball, assisting on 10 of their 13 made baskets in the first half. But where the Pirates operated a wide open, decentralized attack, the machinery of the Yellow Jackets' offense all seemed geared towards finding Jase Miguez, who scored 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-5 from deep, to keep Howard Payne within 46-31 at halftime.
The trends appeared to continue into the early parts of the second half with Pirate defense turning into offense, leading to more 3-pointers, taking a 68-38 lead on a Martinez 3-pointer from Hannah, forcing a Howard Payne timeout with 14:22 remaining.
From there, the Yellow Jackets made a long, slow climb back into the game with Howard Payne repeatedly finding Miguez on offense while extending pressure on defense against a Pirate offense that had taken its foot off the gas.
Howard Payne outscored Southwestern 47-42 in the second half, pulling within single digits as Jaylan Ballou got into the teeth of the Pirate defense with eight points, four assists, and three steals in the second half, and Miguez continued his torrid pace with 25 second-half points on 10-for-14 shooting.
The Pirates shot just 37.5 percent in the second half but maintained their proficiency from range, hitting 8-for-21 (38.1 percent) while Alexander came to life, grinding out 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting, grabbing three offensive rebounds and going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the second half to keep Howard Payne at bay.
Alexander led the Pirates with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double. Hicks added 19 points, hitting four 3-pointers and grabbing five rebounds, and Kyle Howard had 10 points, six assists, and four steals.
Miguez poured in 44 points on 18-for-25 shooting for Howard Payne, grabbing eight rebounds with four steals. No other Yellow Jacket finished in double figures.
With the win, the Pirates improve to 4-3, getting above .500 heading into conference play. Southwestern will travel to Colorado next weekend, playing Colorado College on Saturday, Dec. 14 and Johnson & Wales (Denver) on Sunday, Dec. 15.