Box Score

Postgame Interview with Head Coach Ron Cottrell (video)

Video Highlights

HOUSTON – Houston Baptist junior forward Marcus Davis scored a season-high 30 points to lead six Huskies scored in double figures in a 112-80 victory over Dallas Christian Saturday night at Sharp Gym. The win was the 399^th career victory for HBU head coach Ron Cottrell.
 
Davis shot 9-of-19 from the field, including a pair of threes, and made all 10 from the free-throw line for HBU (3-6). Freshman guard Ronald March Jr. added 16 points, eight rebounds two assists, two steals and two blocks off the bench, while junior forward Art Bernardi had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Freshman guard Tyler Russell scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds, freshman guard Marcel Smith scored 11 and grabbed four boards, and junior guard Anthony Hill pitched in with 10 points.
 
Isaac Gonzalez scored 30 points, but was held to 10 points on only two field goals in the second half, for Dallas Christian (2-7). Josue Batres hit three 3-points and scored 17 points for the Crusaders, while Malcolm McCarty had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Roderick Johnson had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
 
HBU shot 48.8 percent from the field for the game, but only 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from 3-point range, while Dallas Christian shot 45.2 percent from the field, including 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from behind the arc. The Huskies hit 24-of-31 free-throw attempts, while the Crusaders hit 17-of-23. HBU outrebounded Dallas Christian, 50-35, pulling down 28 offensive boards to outscore the Crusaders, 36-17, on second-chance points. The Huskies committed 20 turnovers, but forced the Crusaders into 29, making 12 steals and blocking eight Dallas Christian shots.
 
Davis scored nine of the Huskies' first 14 points as they led by four six minutes into the game, but Thompson's second three of the half gave the Crusaders a 17-16 lead with 11:40 remaining in the opening frame. Latas' short jump hook put HBU back on top by one, then Davis slashed to the hoop for a layup and converted a three-point play to make the Huskies' lead 23-19 with 8:56 to go.
 
Another three-point play and a fast-break layup by Davis extended the Huskies' lead to 28-21 at the 7:26 mark, but Gonzalez hit a pair of jumpers to get the Crusaders back to within three. HBU quickly answered back and Smith capped a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 37-27 advantage with less than four minutes left in the half. Bernardi's layup on a dish from March gave HBU its largest lead of the half at 14 with 1:53 remaining, but Dallas Christian closed back to within seven when Malcolm McCarty heaved up a three before the shot clock expired with 14 seconds left and made the score 45-38 going into the break.
 
HBU shot 45.2 percent from the field in the first half, while Dallas Christian shot 59.3 percent. The rebounds were even at 19, but the Huskies had 12 on the offensive end. Davis led HBU with 17 points in the half, but Gonzalez hit 10-of-13 and scored 20 points for Dallas Christian.
 
In the second half, Batres' three-pointer from the corner trimmed HBU's to five and Gonzalez made a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game with 16:07 to go in the second half. Davis hit a pair of technical free throws, Bernardi spun in the lane for a layup and Jonathan Evans hit a reverse layup to put the Huskies back up by nine, until Batres nailed another three to make the score 61-55 with 13:55 to go. HBU then scored 15 straight over the next three minutes as part of a 23-2 run that gave the Huskies an 84-57 lead with 9:41 left in the game.
 
Smith buried a three, March hit a layup and Lamar Thomas slammed home a Hill missed layup to extend the lead to 34. Smith drilled another trey as the Huskies topped the century mark and took a 37-point lead – their largest of the game – with 5:44 remaining.
 
The 112 points scored by the Huskies was the most by an HBU squad since a 118-96 victory over Southwest Assemblies of God on March 1, 2004.
 
The Huskies return to action when they host Campbell – which defeated HBU, 82-68, in the season opener on Nov. 11 – Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. at Sharp Gym.