Box Score

Postgame Interview with Ron Cottrell (video)

HONOLULU – Houston Baptist used a 10-1 run late in the second half to break open what had been a tight contest throughout, then had to hold off a furious rally by Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the closing minutes for a 72-68 win in the season opener at the Rainbow Classic Friday night at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
Senior guard Marcus Davis shot 7-of-16 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line to lead HBU (1-0) with 22 points and added six rebounds. Five Huskies freshmen combined for 29 points, with freshman guard James Harper coming off the bench for 11 points, hitting 3-of-4 3-pointers, to go along with four steals and three rebounds. Freshman guard Caleb Crayton added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Senior forward Art Bernardi had nine points and six rebounds for the Huskies.
 
Terrell Kennedy hit 8-of-14 from the field to lead UAPB (0-1) with 19 points. Tevin Hammond added 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals, while Davon Haynes had 13 points and 12 rebounds, but only one in the second half. Lazabian Jackson chipped in with 12 points and six boards for the Golden Lions.
 
HBU shot 39 percent from the field and made 17-of-25 from the free-throw line as the Huskies won their first season opener since a 67-62 win over Trinity on Nov. 3, 2007. UAPB shot 43 percent, but made only 12-of-25 from the line. The Huskies outrebounded the Golden Lions, 45-39, including an 18-14 advantage on the offensive glass. HBU committed 16 turnovers to UAPB's 14 and the Huskies' bench outscored the Golden Lions', 27-4.

There were 17 leads changes and 11 ties in the game, including six ties and 12 lead changes in the second.
 
Davis opened the second half with a three to extend the lead to five, but the Golden Lions scored the next six to take a 34-33 lead. Sophomore guard Marcel Smith drained a trey to put HBU back up by two, but Kennedy's jumper tied it, 36-36. On the ensuing possession, Crayton grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to as HBU went back on top.
 
The two teams traded the lead as Kennedy hit a three, sophomore guard Tyler Russell answered with a pair of free throws, Kennedy hit a long jumper, answered by a pair of free throws by Davis. Jackson hit a jumper for the Golden Lions, Davis grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back, then Kennedy hit a jumper. However, after the play, Kennedy was called for a technical foul, Davis hit both free throws and Bernardi hit a leaner in the paint as HBU led, 48-45. Trent Whiting's dunk and Hammond's layup tied the game, 49-49, at the 12:00 mark.
 
Davis found Bernardi cutting on the baseline for an easy layup, but Mitchell Anderson hit a jumper and Warren Boyd made a free throw to put UAPB ahead by one at 53-52 with 9:53 remaining. HBU took control with a 10-1 run over the next 4:48 as Hill drove the baseline and found freshman Spenser Gales waiting for a layup, then junior guard Jonathan Evans made a layup after a Harper steal as HBU went back up by three. After a free throw by Hammond for the Golden Lions, Harper drilled a three, Davis hit a floater and Evans made two free throws to put HBU ahead, 62-53.
 
Hammond made a three with 5:05 to go to end the Huskies' run, but Bernardi hit a fadeaway in the lane and Russell made one-of-two from the line to restore HBU's nine-point lead. After a Haynes jumper fro UAPB, Harper knocked down another triple to stake the Huskies' their largest lead of the game at 10 with 2:08 remaining.
 
The Golden Lions scored the next eight points in less than a minute on a jumper by Jackson, a pair of Hammond free throws, and Haynes dunk and Jackson layup to get within two at 68-66, but Smith and Davis each made a pair of free throws as the Huskies led, 72-66 with 21 seconds left. Jackson drained another jumper with 13 seconds to go and Harper missed two free throws with nine seconds left, but he grabbed the rebound after Kennedy's 3-point miss with two seconds remaining as the Huskies held on.
 
In the first half, UAPB took an early 6-2 lead after a 3-pointer by Hammond, but Crayton scored back-to-back baskets for HBU to tie it up. The Golden Lions scored the next two baskets to lead by four, but Davis converted a 3-point play, got a putback layup and hit a running jumper to give the Huskies a 14-13 lead. UAPB scored four-straight to go back up by three, but another short jump hook by Davis cut it back to one.
 
Kennedy hit a three that put the Golden Lions ahead, 20-16, but Bernardi found Joyce under the basket for an easy layup to keep the Huskies within two. Bernardi tied the game at 21 with a baseline jumper at the 7:00 mark. With the game tied, 23-23, Harper intercepted a pass at midcourt, took it the distance and threw it down with one hand over a UAPB defender to give the Huskies the lead. The Golden Lions answered with a pair of free throws with two minutes left, but Harper drained a three on the other end.
 
Two more free throws by UAPB cut HBU's lead to one, but Crayton hit a short turnaround jumper off the glass to restore the advantage to three and the Huskies took a 30-28 lead into the break. Four HBU freshman combined for 19 of the Huskies' 30 points in the half, but Davis still led the way with nine. Crayton and freshman forward Dauson Womack had six each, while Harper added five. Kennedy had eight points for UAPB in the first half, while Haynes had seven points and 11 rebounds. The Huskies shot 34 percent, but only 1-of-6 from 3-point range, and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. The Golden Lions shot only 32 percent in the first half, including 2-of-11 from behind the arc, but made 8-of-13 from the line.
 
The Huskies face Maryland-Eastern Shore Sunday at 6:30 p.m. CST, followed by host Hawai'i Tuesday at 3 a.m. CST, which will be shown live on ESPN as the third leg of the network's “College Hoops Tipoff Marathon.”