Box Score

CHICAGO – Chicago State grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to take a 26-5 advantage in second-chance points en route to a 75-60 victory over Houston Baptist in the championship game of the Great West Conference Tournament Saturday night at the Jones Convocation Center.
 
Senior forward Art Bernardi went 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line to lead HBU (14-17) with 17 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Sophomore guard Marcel Smith hit 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, to finish with 16 points, while sophomore guard Rob Lewis had 11 points off the bench. Senior guard Anthony Hill added five points and four rebounds, while sophomore guard Dewayne Bowden led the Huskies with five boards. Bernardi and Lewis were each named to the all-tournament team.
 
Jeremy Robinson went 7-for-13 to lead Chicago State (12-20) with 17 points. Nate Duhon added 15 points and six steals, while Clarke Rosenberg and Matt Ross had 10 points each. Ross and Corey Gray led the Cougars with six rebounds. Quinton Pippen finished with eight points and five boards.
 
HBU shot 38 percent from the field and 36 percent (5-for-14) from 3-point range, while Chicago State shot 41 percent from the field, but only 14 percent (2-for-14) from long distance. The Cougars went 21-for-29 from the free-throw line, while the Huskies went 21-for-27. Chicago State outrebounded HBU, 40-32, and won the turnover battle, 19-11, to outscore the Huskies, 21-7, in points off turnovers.
 
Freshman guard James Harper drove hard to the basket and got the Huskies on the board first two-and-a-half minutes in, but Pippen raced down for a layup to answer. Freshman center Cody Joyce sank a pair of free throws and Bernardi hit a fadeaway jumper to put HBU up by four, but Chicago State went on a 13-0 run to take a 15-6 lead with 10:29 remaining. After Lewis broke the drought with a three from the corner, the Cougars got a layup from Rosenburg. Bernardi hit a jumper, but Chicago State scored three-straight to lead by nine.
 
The Cougars extended their lead to 24-13 on a hook and a layup by Robinson. A free throw by Smith made it a 10-point game, but Robinson answered with another short jumper. Smith came back with a floater off the glass, but Chicago State scored the next 10, which included a jumper and a three-point play by Robinson to lead 36-16 with 4:32 left.
 
Chicago State moved ahead by 21 after Duhon followed his own missed free throw with a layup with 3:33 on the clock, and the Cougars took a 44-25 lead into halftime.
 
Chicago State shot 43 percent from the field, including 2-of-9 from 3-point range, while HBU shot 38 percent, but only 1-of-4 from behind the arc. The Cougars went 8-for-12 from the free throw line, and the Huskies went 8-for-11. Bernardi led HBU with eight points, while Robinson had 13 off the bench for Chicago State.
 
A layup by Gray gave the Cougars a 22-point lead early in the second half, but Smith hit a three and knocked down a jumper for the Huskies. Ross made a jumper that put Chicago State back up 53-33, but two free throws each by Bowden and Hill made it a 16-point game.
 
The Cougars answered back to reclaim a 20-point advantage, but Bernardi converted a three-point play with 8:13 to go. Lewis made a three to cut the deficit to 16 with 6:11 left, but Chicago State scored eight-straight points to make the score, 69-45. The Huskies outscored the Cougars, 9-2, on a three-point play by Bernardi, a layup by Bowden, a three by Smith and a free throw by Lewis to cut Chicago State's lead to 17 with 2:34 remaining. A layup by Lewis at the buzzer cut it to 15.
 
The Huskies' 14 wins are the most since the program returned to NCAA Division I competition over the last six seasons.