Box Score

Postgame Interview with freshman guard Tyler Russell (video)

Postgame Interview with head coach Ron Cottrell (video)

HOUSTON – In a see-saw second half, which saw four ties and eight lead changes, Houston Baptist finally pushed ahead for good over the final eight minutes and held off New Jersey Institute of Technology for a 75-68 victory in Great West Conference basketball Saturday night at Sharp Gym.
 
Freshman guard Tyler Russell shot 10-of-14 from the field and led HBU (9-17, 2-5 GWC) with 21 points – one shy of his career high. Junior guard Anthony Hill went 3-for-3 from 3-point range to finish with 11 points. Junior forward Art Bernardi made just one field goal but went 8-of-10 from the free throw line to add 10 points and four rebounds, while junior forward Marcus Davis went 6-of-7 from the line to also finish with 10 points and four boards. Senior center Joe Latas only played 16 minutes, but added eight points and four rebounds.
 
Isiaiah Wilkerson recorded a double-double for NJIT (11-15, 4-5) scoring 15 points, pulling down 15 rebounds and handing out four assists. Lamar Kearse added 14 points, while Chris Flores and Ryan Woods had 11 each.
 
HBU shot 52 percent from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range, while NJIT shot 46 percent from the field and made 8-fo-25 from behind the arc. The Huskies held a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 24-of-30, while the Highlanders went just 6-of-7. NJIT outrebounded HBU, 33-26, including 16-10, on offensive rebounds, but only outscored the Huskies, 17-16, on second-chance opportunities. The Huskies turned the ball over only nine times, while the Highlanders committed 13 turnovers, but only two in the second half.
 
Latas opened the scoring with a putback, but Kearse hit a 3-pointer and P.J. Miller knocked down a jumper. Russell answered with a long jumper, but Wilkerson got a putback for the Highlanders. Latas powered inside for another layup, but Wilkerson got a layup off another miss and Miller hit a jumper. Russell buried a 15-footer, but Kearse got inside for a layup to give NJIT a 13-8 lead with 14:52 remaning in the first half.
 
Hill drained a trey for the Huskies to cut the Highlanders' lead to two, but Wilkerson hit a three of his own on the other end for NJIT. Davis was fouled while attempting a three and sank all three free throws to make the score 16-14 with 12:51 to go. Arjun Ohri made a three to put NJIT back up by five, but Russell grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in, then followed with a runner to cut the Highlanders' advantage to one. Davis also hit a runner, then Russell made another to give the Huskies a 22-19 lead with 8:44 left. Latas finished off the 10-0 run by following his own miss with a putback and give the Huskies a five-point edge.
 
Wilkerson hit a baseline jumper to stop the spurt, but Latas came back with a jump hook to keep HBU ahead by five. Russell's dropped a runner in the lane, then hit a 20-foot jumper with just under two minutes left to extend the Huskies' lead to 30-22. Miller and Ryan Regis each hit a pair of free throws, then Kearse drove baseline with 26 seconds left for the Highlanders' first field goal since the 7:30 mark to cut HBU's lead to 30-28 at the break.
 
HBU shot 43 percent in the first half, but only 1-of-5 from behind the arc and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. NJIT shot 46 percent, including 3-of-8 from long range and 5-of-6 from the line, but the Highlanders committed 11 turnovers. The Huskies outscored the Highlanders, 10-0, in points off turnovers in the half. Russell hit 7-of-9 from the floor and scored 14 points in the opening frame, while Wilkerson led NJIT with nine.
 
Kearse drove in and converted a three-point play on NJIT's first possession of the second half to quickly put the Highlanders up by one, but Hill buried a three on the other end for HBU. Woods tied the game with a layup after an offensive rebound by Wilkerson, but Russell knocked down a 17-footer to keep the Huskies ahead. Woods made a 3-pointer to put NJIT up by one, but Russell drove in for a layup as HBU reclaimed a one-point edge.
 
Kearse answered with a runner, then Hill came back with a pair of free throws as the lead changed hands for the fifth time in the first five minutes of the second half. Bernardi hit a jumper to put HBU ahead by three, but Wilkerson got an offensive rebound and a putback to keep it a one-point game. After Bernardi hit one of two free throws, Flores tied it with a layup. On the other end, Russell drove in the paint and found Hobaugh cutting to the basket for a layup, but missed a free throw that would've given the Huskies a three-point lead.
 
Russell drove baseline to put HBU by four with 13:07 to go in the second half, but Flores followed with a three to cut the Huskies' lead to one. Davis hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game, but Garrett Frick hit a jumper to tie it, 47-47, with 11:53 on the clock. Russell made a free throw, but Wilkerson grabbed another offensive board and made a layup to give the Highlanders' a one-point lead. Wood made a three with 10:30 remaining to push NJIT's lead to four, but Bernardi hit a pair of free throws for HBU.
 
Miller found Frick cutting to the basket, but Hobaugh made a layup to keep it a two-point game. Miller made a runner in the lane, then Bernardi sank another pair of free throws as did senior forward Terry Bembry to tie the game, 56-56, with 7:59 to go. Smith hit a jumper in the lane as the Huskies retook the lead, then Hill nailed a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a five-point advantage at the six-minute mark.
 
Wilkerson answered Hill's three with a layup, but Bembry hit a short jumper for HBU. Flores made a three from the corner to cut the Huskies' lead to 63-61 with 4:33 remaining, but Davis went inside for a tough layup to make it a four-point game. Kearse hit a jumper for the Highlanders, but Bembry hit a pair of free throws to put the Huskies ahead, 67-63 with 1:26 left.
 
Bernardi hit a pair of free throws, then one of two to extend HBU's lead to seven with 40 seconds, but Woods made a three with 32 seconds left to cut it to four. Davis sank two free throws with 25 seconds left, then Smith made a pair to put the Huskies back up by eight with 15 second to go. Flores made an uncontested layup with less than 10 seconds remaining, then Smith hit one of two free throws for the seven-point win.
 
The Huskies return to action when they make their final road trip of the regular season to visit Utah Valley Thursday, followed by North Dakota Saturday.