Box Score

HOUSTON – Houston Baptist sophomore guard Tyler Russell scored a career-high 24 points and sophomore guard Marcel Smith also recorded a career-high with 19 points, but Army overtook the Huskies with a second-half push for a 95-86 victory Monday afternoon at Sharp Gym.
 
Russell was 8-of-16 from the field, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line for HBU (4-9). His four made threes were also a career high and he dished out five assists and came up with a pair of steals. Smith went 7-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-5 from long distance, and 2-for-2 from the line and added four assists and pair of steals. Senior forward Art Bernardi added 17 points and nine rebounds.
 
Ella Ellis went 4-for-9 from the field, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc, and made 15-of-16 free throws to lead Army (7-6) with 26 points. Kyle Wilson went 8-of-15 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line to finish with 24 points and six assists. Dylan Cox made 5-of-6 field goals and had 13 points. Jordan Springer and Kyle Toth led the Black Knights with six rebounds each.
 
Army shot 49 percent from the field, but only 32 percent from 3-point range. HBU shot 47 percent from the field and drilled a season-best 10-of-19 from behind the arc for 53 percent. The Black Knights held a huge advantage at the free-throw line, hitting 33-of-42, while the Huskies made 16-of-21. Army outrebounded HBU, 41-30.
 
The Black Knights jumped out to a 12-3 lead over the first 4:46 of the game, but the Huskies quickly struck back and tied it, 14-14, with 9:48 left in the first half. HBU took its first lead of the game at 20-18 on a layup by Bernardi with 7:14 remaining. After Army tied it again, Bernardi converted a three-point play, then followed with a layup. Cox made the second of two free throws for Army, then Russell drove in for a layup that gave the Huskies their largest lead of the game, 27-21, with 6:14 to go.
 
HBU led by five after a Bernardi jumper at the 1:42 mark, but Ellis nailed a three and Wilson hit a baseline jumper with three seconds left to cut Army's halftime deficit to one, 36-35. Bernardi led the Huskies with 13 points in the half, while Ellis had nine for the Black Knights.
 
The Huskies were able to extend their lead back to five in the early stages of the second half, but Army came back to tie the game at 45. Russell hit 3-pointers on three-straight possessions to put HBU ahead, 51-48, with 16:01 remaining. HBU led 53-50 with 14:26 left, but Army went on a 14-0 run over the next 4:54 to go up 64-53. The Black Knights led by as many as 15, but the Huskies were able to get back to within seven by making a couple of late threes.
 
HBU returns to action when it travels to face Texas A&M Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Southwest.