Another close loss for the Louisiana College men's basketball team was the unfortunate story on Saturday afternoon in Brownwood, TX, as the Wildcats fell to Howard Payne 70-67 in ASC play.
 
The three-point loss, the Wildcats' seventh in a row, came after LC was able overcome a 33-27 halftime deficit and take a 46-44 lead at the 10:39 mark of the second half.
 
That was the last lead the Wildcats would have, however, as HPU went on a 36-26 run over the next ten minutes and take a 70-62 lead with 17 seconds left.
 
A Doc Welch fastbreak dunk followed by a three-pointer as time expired would make the score closer, but wasn't enough to bring LC back, as the loss continued the Wildcats' season-long trend of tough breaks on the road.
 
LC was led in scoring by sophomore Kevin Lewis, who poured in 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Senior guard Doc Welch went 8-for-12 from the field for 18 points and was joined by sophomore point guard Kevin Cottonham (11 points, four assists) in double-figures.
 
Brandon Gould (15 points), Jorden Young (17 points), and Ross Whittet (11 points, six rebounds) were the leaders offensively for Howard Payne.
 
LC now stands at 9-12 overall with a 9-10 mark in ASC play with three games left to play on the regular season schedule. They sit in sixth place in the ASC standings, one half game ahead of Sul Ross, with a home matchup against Texas-Tyler scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday night in Pineville, LA.