Cowboys Fall To UMHB :: Pickelman Has 31 in the Loss

Feb. 17, 2007

ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons' men's basketball team dropped its home finale, 75-72, to Mary Hardin-Baylor, Saturday afternoon in American Southwest Conference action at the Mabee Complex.

The Cowboys trailed 43-28 with 2:05 remaining in the first half, but HSU scored the last eight points of the half to make it 43-36. HSU continued the run in the second and eventually tied the game at 50-50 with 12:19 to play. The run was 22-7 over nine minutes.

From that point on it was a back and forth game, until the Cowboys went from 60-51 down to up by a score of 66-60 with a 7-0 run from the 7:50 mark to the 6:24 mark. Dan Jean had a lay-up, Zach Pickelman had a 3-pointer and Matt Brackett a jumper in the run.

It was 71-65 after Zach Pickelman scored a jumper with 4:21 to play, but the Cowboys only had one point in the final 4:21. Ryan Burgart hit a jumper to cut it to 71-67 and Kevin Guyden hit one of two free throws with 3:37 to play to make it 71-68. It was Guyden's only point of the second half after he had 21 in the first half.

Burgart then hit a pair of free throws to make it 71-70 with 3:07 to play and then tied the game at 71 with another free throw at the 2:24 mark. Neiman Ford then hit what proved to be the winning 3-pointer with 1:58 to play. Mardochee Jean split a pair of free throws with 1:22 to play and then the Cowboys got a top and had the ball back.

After the Cowboys got an offensive rebound, official Joe Carter called Dan Jean for an illegal screen, 25-feet from the basket with nine seconds to play to give the Crusaders the ball back. After Ford split a pair of free throws, Pickelman's last second off-balance 3-pointer was off the mark.

Pickelman led the Cowboys with 31 points in his final home game. Dan Jean had 14 points off the bench and his brother, Mardochee, had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Guyden led the Crusaders with 22 and Neiman Ford added 18.

HSU fell to 14-11 on the year and 14-7 in league play. Mary Hardin-Baylor improved to 21-4 on the year and 17-4 in ASC play. UMHB finished as the West co-champion along with McMurry.

HSU will play LeTourneau in the first round of the ASC Tournament at 2 p.m. on Friday in Clinton, Miss.