ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons men's basketball team got back in the win column with a decisive 106-58 win over Howard Payne on Saturday at the Mabee Complex.

The Cowboys jumped out to a 22-10 lead in the first eight minutes. Layton Sharp had 11 points in the opening run. The Cowboys continued to build on the lead and led 48-28 at halftime.

HSU put the game away with a strong run out of halftime to push the lead out to 62-30. In that run, Kyle Brennon had back-to-back breakaways after steals. HSU pushed the lead out to 87-40 with 8:23 to play.

After the under eight timeout, the Cowboys finished the game with its five freshmen on the floor to close out the game.

HSU had a balanced attack and every player that played scored. Sharp led the way with 16 points, freshman Aidan Walsh had a career-best 14 points, Neal Chambliss and Trey Wooldridge had 13 points each and Brennon had 12 points and eight assists.

The Cowboys forced 22 turnovers and turned them into a 34-4 advantage in points off turnovers. HSU had a 56-28 advantage in points in the paint.

Jase Miguez had 13 points to lead the Yellow Jackets.

The Cowboys are now 5-9 overall and 1-4 in the American Southwest Conference. Howard Payne fell to 1-13 overall and 0-5 in the league. HSU will hit the road next week to play at Mary Hardin-Baylor and Concordia.

--- www.hsuathletics.com ---