HOUSTON – Houston Baptist senior guard Andrew Gonzalez hit six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 33 points to lead the Huskies to an 81-71 victory over Texas-Pan American in Great West Conference basketball Saturday night at Sharp Gym.

“Obviously we're excited about the win and getting a conference game under our belt and, hopefully, starting to build some momentum with the team,” head coach Ron Cottrell said. “We all know that Andrew is so important to our offense, because he starts things on both ends of the floor. It's important for him to get going early, because once he gets confidence, other guys start playing well.”

Gonzalez went 9-of-18 from the field, 6-of-10 from behind the arc and 9-for-11 from the free-throw line and had six rebounds and four steals. Senior guard Shawn Echols nailed three from long range to finish with 13 points and a game-high five assists for the Huskies (2-16, 1-2 GWC). Senior guard Michael Moss had 12 points, five rebounds and three steals, while sophomore guard Ben Daniels had a career-high 10 points and team-high seven rebounds off the bench. Sophomore forward Lamar Thomas tied his career-high with eight points off the bench.

“My teammates kept finding me and I hit a couple of threes to get it going and get the team going – just trying to get a win,” Gonzalez said. “It was good to be back in front of our fans, get some confidence, step up and knock down shots just like we do in practice.”

Brandon Provost scored 22 points, hitting 5-of-11 from the field, 3-of-7 from behind the arc and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to lead the Broncs (3-17, 0-3). Jared Maree had 12 points off the bench, and Matt Mierzycki had a game-high eight rebounds.

The Huskies jumped out to a 17-6 lead with 13:03 to go in the first half as Gonzalez hit three 3-pointers and had 10 points in the first five minutes. Echols hit a three and Moss scored four straight to extend the Huskies' lead to 29-15 at the 7:14 mark. HBU scored seven straight to take its largest lead of the half at 41-22 with 3:46 to go when Daniels tipped in a Gonzalez missed jumper, then nailed a three and Echols sank a pair of free throws.

The Huskies led 48-29 at the break and Gonzalez finished with 17 for the half, while Echols had 11. Brandon Provost led the Broncs with eight points. HBU shot 51.6 percent from the field and 60 percent (9-of-15) from behind the arc in the first half, while holding UTPA to only 33.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from long range.

UTPA came out hot in the second half hitting three 3-pointers as part of an 11-2 run to cut the Huskies lead to 50-40 with 16:43 left. Maree's 3-pointer at the 14:14 mark cut the lead to seven, but Gonzalez answered back with another three of his own. Gonzalez nailed a jumper with 11:03 left to give HBU a 12-point advantage, but the Broncs scored six straight to make the score 65-59. The Huskies responded with an 8-0 run as Moss hit an acrobatic layup, then nailed a three as he fouled. He missed the free throw, but Echols made a layup on the next possession to put HBU up 13.

The Broncs went on a 10-2 run late in the game, capped by Matt Mierzycki's 3-point play with 2:00 remaining in the game, but Daniels' jumper with the shot clock winding down put the Huskies back up with seven with just over a minute remaining. Gonzalez put the game away with four free throws in the final minute.

HBU shot 45.8 percent from the field for the game, including 48 percent (12-for-25) from 3-point range to snap its 10-game losing streak. UTPA shot 42.9 percent from the field and 38.9 percent (7-for-18) from behind the arc. Rebounding was even at 32 apiece, but the Broncs committed 21 turnovers, while the Huskies had 15.

The Huskies return to action when they go on the road to face South Dakota Thursday and North Dakota Saturday, before returning home for seven of their last nine games.