Postgame Interview with Ron Cottrell (video)
Photo Gallery
HOUSTON – Sophomore guard
Rob Lewis led four HBU players in double figures with 17 points as the Huskies pulled away for a 75-61 victory over Crowley's Ridge in the home opener Monday night at Sharp Gym.
Lewis was 4-for-9 from the field, hit 8-of-9 from the line and pulled down four rebounds for the Huskies (1-1). Junior guard
Tyler Russell made 5-of-12 from the field to score 14 off the bench and had three steals. Sophomore center
Cody Joyce topped the career-high he scored Friday night against Texas Tech with 13 points and tied for the team lead with eight rebounds, while junior guard
Marcel Smith also added 13 points and had three assists. Sophomore forward
Dauson Womack and freshman forward
Colter Lasher each had eight boards.
D'Andre Kinnard had 13 points for the Pioneers (1-3), while Tim Shepard and Josh Longino each had 12. Shepard and Skylor Guess had eight rebounds apiece for CRC.
HBU shot 43 percent from the field for the game, but only made 3-of-13 from 3-point range. CRC shot 39 percent from the field and 2-for-11 from behind the arc. The Huskies went 20-for-25 from the line, while the Pioneers hit 19-of-28. HBU outrebounded CRC, 44-32, including 17-9 in offensive boards.
Lewis opened the game with a three for HBU, but CRC kept pace then went on an 11-0 run on a layup by Guess, a jumper by Foshee and seven-straight points by Kinnard to take a 17-9 lead with 10:58 left. Russell stopped the drought with a free-throw line jumper at the midway point, but the Pionners answered with a pair of free throws by Stevens. CRC led 21-16, but the Huskies scored six in a row as Womack found junior center
Ricmonds Vilde underneath for a reverse layup, then took it to the rack himself for a layup, and Vilde cleaned up a Womack miss to give HBU the lead back with 6:39 to go.
A steal and a layup by Longino put the Pioneers back on top, but Smith buried a three to give the Huskies the advantage. Walker answered with a three, but Russell found Joyce underneath to tie the game, freshman guard
Reveal Chukwujekwu made a layup, Joyce hit a short jumper, and Smith drove in for a layup to give HBU a 33-27 lead with 2:09 left. A technical free throw and a pair of free throws by Kinnard made it a three-point game. The Huskies would take that same margin into halftime, leading 34-31.
The Huskies shot 38 percent in the first half, while the Pioneers shot 33 percent. HBU was 6-for-10 from the free throw line, and CRC went 14-for-20. The Pioneers shot 20 free throws in the opening frame, compared to the Huskies' 10.
After HBU's Smith opened the first half with a runner high off the glass, CRC's Paxton Smith answered with a three and Longino tied it with a layup. Lewis scored five points during a 9-0 Huskies run, and Smith capped it with a jumper as HBU led 45-36 with 15:14 remaining. The Pioneers scored the next four, but Russell scored the next seven points of the game, knocking down a pair of free throws, then making a steal and drilling a three on the other end, before hitting a jumper to extend the Huskies' lead to 12 with 9:42 left.
HBU scored six-straight points to take an 18-point lead with 3:19 on the clock, but CRC kept battling down the stretch and cut the deficit to 71-57 with just over a minute left. The Huskies went on to win by that same margin.
The Huskies made 14-of-15 from the free throw line, while the Pioneers were only 5-for-8 in the second half.
The Huskies return to action when they travel to face Texas Monday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center in Austin, Texas.
