HOUSTON – Houston Baptist senior guard Andrew Gonzalez tied his career high with 36 points and also grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Huskies to a 70-68 victory over Middle Tennessee in non-conference basketball Tuesday night at Sharp Gym.

Gonzalez hit 11-of-21 from the field and 13-of-17 from the free-throw line for his eighth career 30-plus point effort and ninth-straight game with at least 20 or more. Senior guard Michael Moss ignited the Huskies (4-22) in the second half, scoring 12 of his 13 points in the final 20 minutes, and adding eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals for the game. Moss extended his streak of consecutive games with a steal to 27. Senior forward Fred Hinnenkamp added nine points and five rebounds for HBU.

James Washington went 13-of-14 from the free throw line and led Middle Tennessee (14-15) with 21 points and also had four assists and four steals. J.T. Sulton and Jason Jones had 13 points apiece and Jones led the Blue Raiders with eight rebounds.

Echols got a give-and-go pass from junior forward Terry Bembry for a fastbreak layup with 31 seconds left to put HBU up, 67-62, but Washington answered back with a floater with 23 seconds left to cut the Huskies' lead down to three. Sophomore guard Ben Daniels hit 1-of-2 from the line on the next possession, then fouled Washington, who nailed both of his free throws to make the score, 68-66. Moss drained two free throws with 11 seconds left to put the Huskies back up by four, but Washington drove to the other end and went to the line to keep it a two-point game with 5.9 seconds remaining. Washington deflected the inbounds pass to teammate James Gallman, whose 3-point attempt from the corner fell short and Daniels secured the rebound and send the Huskies to a win.

For the game, HBU shot 42.0 percent from the field, but only 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from behind the arc. The Huskies won with defense, cuffing Middle Tennessee to 36.4 percent shooting from the field and only 1-of-15 from 3-point range. The Huskies hit 25-of-35 from the free throw line, while the Blue Raiders hit 27-of-32. HBU outrebounded Middle Tennessee, 36-35.

Gonzalez found Moss slashing on the baseline for a layup and completed a 3-point play to tie the game, 47-47, with 9:20 to go. On the next possession, Moss hit a free-throw line jumper to give the Huskies the lead. MTSU benefitted from an inadvertent whistle that stopped an HBU fast break – the Huskies turned the ball over after the inbounds and the Blue Raiders tied the game, 51-51, with a layup on the other end. The Huskies were fired up after that play as Hinnenkamp hit a pair of free throws, Gonzalez drained a jumper and cut to the basket for a layup and was fouled for a 3-point play that gave HBU a seven-point lead, 58-51, with 5:10 to play.

HBU scored the first four points of the second half to pull within one, but the Blue Raiders answered back with a 8-0 run to lead, 39-31. Middle Tennessee matched its largest lead of the game at nine, but HBU got a 3-pointer from Moss and a free throw from Gonzalez to get back within five. Lamar Thomas hit a pair of free throws to cut Middle Tennessee's lead to 44-41 with 12:02 remaining.

In the opening half, HBU jumped out to a 10-6 lead on seven straight points by Gonzalez. After Hinnenkamp started the Huskies' scoring with a three, Gonzalez had a layup, an alley-oop on an in-bounds play and a trey of his own. A three-point play by J.T. Sulton was part of a 10-0 run that put the Blue Raiders up by two, 22-15, but Gonzalez ended the drought with a pair of free throws with 6:34 to go. After Middle Tennessee went up by nine, Gonzalez's three-point play with 2:58 left led to six straight points by the Huskies, which cut the deficit to three.

Middle Tennessee shot 42 percent in the half and led, 32-27, at the break, while HBU shot only 31 percent. Gonzalez had 18 at the half, hitting 7-of-16 from the field.