SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College men's basketball team trailed by 13 midway through the second half, but the 'Roos battled back and Kidus Getenet swished a three with 0.4 seconds remaining in a 74-72 victory on Tuesday evening in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 2-3 overall on the year with two straight wins.
Getenet led all scorers with 20 in the victory for the 'Roos, pumping in 15 of those after halftime to help Austin College complete its comeback victory, and Nate Williams added 16 points off the bench. Jason Jones Jr. pulled down 17 rebounds, including a career-best 12 on the offensive glass, while also swatting five shots. The 'Roos made just 36.4% of their attempts from the field and 9-of-33 from long range, but Austin College owned a 49-37 rebounding edge, including grabbing 24 offensive boards leading to 22 second chance points compared to just nine second chance points for the Jackets.
It was a back and forth game early, with Austin College taking an 11-7 lead five and a half minutes in before a 9-2 run for HPU put the Jackets on top 16-13 with 11:37 left before halftime. The final 10 minutes of the opening half saw multiple ties and lead changes, but Howard Payne scored seven in a row to take it from a 24-24 game to leading 31-24, and the Jackets went into the locker room owning a 39-32 advantage. Howard Payne maintained a comfortable margin for much of the second half and Hudson Johnson scored four quick points to make it 59-46 with 10:50 remaining.
Austin College responded with a 15-1 run capped by a Getenet triple to take a 61-60 lead with 6:33 left to play, and two free throws by Getenet made it 63-61 with 5:44 on the clock. After Joshua Joe scored to push it to a 65-61 game, the Jackets responded with five in a row to go back on top 66-65, and after Austin College regained the lead, HPU got a pair of free throws from Chase Glasper to go back ahead 70-69 with 1:18 left before the final buzzer. Jones tipped in a miss to put Austin College ahead 71-70 with 26 seconds left, but HPU got a tip-in of their own from Armonie Ramey to make it 72-71 with 13 seconds to play. On Austin College's final possession, Jordan Hudgins found Nate Williams after a baseline drive, and Williams kicked it to Getenet in the corner for the game-winning three.
Getenet made 7-of-14 shots overall and 3-of-8 from long range to get his 20 points, and Williams went 7-of-14. Both players added four rebounds, and Tristan Dick chipped in eight points, five rebounds, and five assists while Hudgins added six points, eight boards, and four assists. Johnson led Howard Payne with 15 points and Ramey added 13 points and seven rebounds.