BROWNWOOD, Texas – The W men's basketball traveled to Brownwood, Texas, to face Howard Payne University and came out on the short end of a good, old-fashioned shoot-out, 113-90, at the Brownwood Coliseum. And plenty of shots were flying – not of the ballistic nature, but the spherical sort – as the Owls (1-1) lost their first game of the 2025-26 season, while the Yellow Jackets (4-0) remained unbeaten.
 
The two teams combined for 158 field goal attempts: 86 for HPU and 72 by MUW. Not only were the teams both unloading the basketball, but doing so with accuracy. The Jackets hit 53.5 percent (46-of-86), while The W converted 50 percent (36-72) shot tries.
 
The real difference came down to mistakes and number of available bodies. The Owls turned the ball over 23 times, which HPU converted into 34 of its points.
 
The W head coach Dean Burrows only had four available bench players that contributed nine points to the Owls' coffers. Conversely, Howard Payne had its 14 reserves add 58 points to its final point total.
 
All five of the MUW starters finished the day in double figure scoring. A par of newcomers, Devin McClaine and Tyler Shephard – shared game high scorer honors, with 23 points, each. Both players went an identical 9-for-15 from the floor. McClaine was 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, while Shephard was a unblemished (3-for-3) from downtown. The tandem was perfect from the free throw stripe, as well, with McClaine going 4-for-4 and Shephard 2-for-2.  
 
Jackson Reid was 6-for-12 shooting, finishing with 14 points. Joe Haze Austin added 11 points by converting 5-of-11 shots.
 
Senior Trent Walker had a double-double game to his credit, with 10 points and an MUW career best 14 rebounds. Walker led all players with five assists.
 
The W will finish of its weekend in West Texas by taking on McMurry University on Saturday (November 15/4 p.m.) in Abilene.