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LAKE CHARLES, La. – For the second-straight game, HBU rallied from a double-digit, second-half deficit to take a lead, but Kevin Hardy's dunk with seven seconds left lifted McNeese State over the Huskies, 70-68, in Southland Conference basketball Saturday afternoon at Burton Coliseum.
 
Sophomore forward Caleb Crayton led HBU (4-14, 1-5 SLC) with 18 points, going 11-of-12 from the free throw line, and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore forward Cody Joyce scored a career-high 15 points off the bench and also pulled down six boards. Junior center Ricmonds Vilde tied for the team lead with six rebounds, while sophomore guard Rob Lewis, the Huskies' leading scorer, was held scoreless, but had six assists. HBU's second-leading scorer, junior guard Tyler Russell, was held to eight points on 4-of-14 shooting.
 
Ledrick Eackles had 20 points and six rebounds for McNeese (6-12, 4-2), but was held to only two points in the second half after hitting six 3-pointers in the first. Hardy tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Adrian Fields added 10 points. Desharick Guidry led the Cowboys with 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.
 
HBU shot 45 percent from the field for the game, including 5-for-12 from behind the arc, and 17-for-22 from the free throw line. McNeese shot 41 percent, 11-for-24 from long range, and 7-for-11 from the line. The Cowboys outrebounded the Huskies, 39-35, scoring 19 second-chance points on 19 offensive boards.
 
McNeese jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but Vilde rattled home a three from the top of the key and Russell drove in for a layup to make it a one-point game. The Cowboys responded with a layup by Hardy and a three by Eackles to get their lead back to six. Vilde made one of two from the line, then Russell made a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup. After Hardy sank a free throw line jumper, Womack buried a three to cut the Huskies' deficit to 16-14 with 13:27 to go.
 
The Cowboys upped their lead to six again on a trey by Eackles', but the Huskies cut the deficit to 27-26 with just under six minutes left after Joyce nailed a hook and Crayton went strong to the basket. Eackles' made a pair of threes and Hardy hit two free throws that extended McNeese's lead to 39-30 with two minutes to go. HBU got buckets from Joyce and Womack, but Eackles nailed a long three at the buzzer to send the Cowboys to a 42-34 lead at the half.
 
In the opening frame HBU shot 45 percent from the field, 2-of-7 from long distance, and 6-of-10 from the free throw line. McNeese shot 44 percent, 7-for-12 from 3-point range, and 5-of-7 from the line. The Cowboys outrebounded the Huskies, 22-19. Joyce led HBU with eight points at the break, while Eackles' hit six threes in the first half to lead McNeese with 18 points.
 
McNeese pushed its lead to 10 early in the second half on a layup by Hardy and a pair of free throws by Fields, but HBU answered by scoring the next six on a couple of baskets by Russell and two Crayton free throws. Fields and Hardy made back-to-back 3-pointers to make the score 52-42 with 13:40 remaining.
 
Shaun Johnson hit a three to give the Cowboys their largest lead of the game at 11 points with 9:33 left, but the Huskies scored six-straight on layups by Joyce and Womack and two more Crayton free throws. Crayton answered another three from Johnson with one of his own to keep it a five-point game. Joyce converted a three-point play, then junior guard Marcel Smith drilled a three to slice McNeese's lead to 64-63 with 3:45 on the clock. Freshman guard Reveal Chukwujekwu gave HBU its first and what proved to be its only lead of the game with a three at the 3:08 mark, but Guidry powered inside for a layup to tie it.
 
Russell missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:37 left, then Guidry made free throw line jumper to put McNeese ahead, 68-66. Joyce tied the game by making two free throws with 26 seconds left, but Hardy drove through the lane for a two-handed dunk with seven seconds on the clock. Lewis got a good look at a 20-footer at the buzzer, but it was just short off the front of the rim.
 
The Huskies return to action and return home to host New Orleans Thursday, followed by Southeastern Louisiana Saturday. Both games will be at 7:30 p.m. at Sharp Gym.