In the last two meetings, the Sul Ross State men's basketball team and Howard Payne University have provided some entertaining and nail-biting contests.

To close out the 2022-2023 season, the Lobos won a buzzer-beater over the Yellow Jackets.

This time around, there was nothing short of suspense.

Sul Ross State trailed by as much as 10 before putting up a valiant effort in the second half, unfortunately Howard Payne came out victorious, 84-83, at the Pete P. Gallego Center on Saturday evening.

>> HOW IT HAPPENED:

There were six lead changes in the opening half.

Behind a 5-0 run highlighted by a jumper in the paint from Omar Ibarra and a three-pointer by Cailean Ables, the Lobos held a three-point lead.

Howard Payne used a 5-0 run of its own to take a two-point lead before the Lobos tied up the game at 10-all on a jumper by Ables.

The pendulum swung back and forth as the lead changed.

Gabe Sanchez brewed up another 5-0 run for Sul Ross State by making a shot in the paint. Manny Flores then nailed a three to increase the Lobo lead to five with 9:04 on the clock.

Using a 9-0 run, the Yellow Jackets flipped the script by taking a four-point lead at the 6:15 mark.

Howard Payne's lead grew to 10 with 4:22 to go in the half.

The Lobos didn't back down as they mustered up a 10-0 run that included a dunk by Tyler Jackson.

With the score tied up at 37-all, the Yellow Jackets hit three 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the first half.

Trey Nelson knocked down a three and then Ables landed a shot in the paint to put Sul Ross State up by one point.

The final three was made at the buzzer from near half court to give Howard Payne a two-point lead at the break.

Howard Payne made 12 three-pointers in the first half.

Jackson tied up the game at 46-all to start the second half before Howard Payne used a 9-0 run to lead by nine.

Sul Ross State put together a 7-0 run that had a three-pointer from Sanchez to help the Lobos trail by two points.

Howard Payne then went ahead by eight using an 8-2 run.

The Lobos rallied for seven-straight points which included a clutch three by Nelson and four points from Myles Amason to get them ahead by one with 6:20 to go.

As the lead changed three more times, Amason got fouled after slamming down a dunk as he capitalized on the three-point play to tie the game at 75-all with 3:54 on the clock.

The Lobos took a one-point lead at the 1:43 mark after going on a 4-0 run.

Howard Payne then went ahead by three before Jackson cut the lead to one. The Lobos had a chance to tie up the game, but they came up short.

>> RECORDS: Sul Ross State (8-8); Howard Payne (9-7)

>> GAME NOTES:

• Jackson finished with 24 points and eight rebounds. He shot 10 of 12 from the field.
• Ables chipped in with 12 points, five assists and five boards.
• Amason added with 11 points and six rebounds.
• Flores had nine points, five assists and six rebounds while Sanchez ended up with seven points.
• The Lobos knocked down six 3-pointers while shooting 7 of 13 from the free throw line.
• Sul Ross State shot 46.7% from the field.
• The score was tied eight times while the lead changed 17 times.
• Nelson had a team-high nine assists while he scored six points.
• Deveraux Minix added with six assists.
• The Lobos had a season-high 30 assists to surpass the previous mark of 28 recorded against University of the Southwest back on Nov. 25.
• Sul Ross State finished with 52 rebounds, the second-highest mark this season, just four shy of tying the team-high of 56 recorded against Concordia on Dec. 18.

>> UP NEXT: The Lobos travel to Richardson, Texas for a 7:30 p.m. CST tip-off with the University of Texas at Dallas on Thursday, Jan. 18.