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HOUSTON – HBU sophomore forward Colter Lasher scored eight-straight points to get himself and the Huskies going in the first half, and he finished with 16 in a 58-55 victory over crosstown rival Rice in non-conference basketball Wednesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.
 
Lasher made 7-of-12 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, grabbed three rebounds and made three steals for the Huskies (3-2). Junior guard Anthony Odunsi added nine points, making 7-for-11 from the free-throw line, and handed out three assists. Senior center Ricmonds Vilde chipped in with eight points and led HBU with eight boards, while sophomore forward Reveal Chukwujekwu had eight points, six rebounds, a block and a steal.
 
Seth Gearhart scored 17 points, hitting 4-of-9 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line to pace Rice (1-6). Marcus Jackson had 10 points and eight rebounds, while Bishop Mency came off the bench to add eight points for the Owls.
 
HBU shot 42.3 percent from the field for the game, 5-for-16 from behind the arc, but only 9-of-18 from the free-throw line. Rice shot 37.3 percent, but only 4-for-19 from long distrance, and 13-for-15 from the charity stripe. The Huskies have outrebounded their opponents in all five games to start the season, with a 37-31 advantage over the Owls.
 
"We came out in the first half and I thought we played a little tentative on the offensive end, but our defense, even though we weren't making shots, our defense kept us in the game," HBU head coach Ron Cottrell said. "It was a lot easier to get back in the game, because I told the guys during the first media timeout that 'our defense was good, our shots haven't been falling, but we've got the jitters out of the way, so let's go play.'"
 
HBU missed its first five shots and was held scoreless for the first 4:41, but Rice only had one field goal, which resulted in a three-point play for Jackson, to put the Owls ahead, 4-0. Vilde finally got the Huskies on the board with a layup and after Van Green made a putback, Odunsi knocked down a pair of free throws.
 
Mency nailed a three from the corner to put Rice up, 9-4, with 13:57 remaining, but freshman forward Terry Harris answered by powering inside for a layup. After Gearhart danced through the lane for a runner off the glass, Chukwujekwu sank a free-throw line jumper and Harris buried a three to tie the game, 11-11, at the midway point.
 
Gearhart regained the lead for Rice with two free throws, but HBU took its first lead on a corner trey by junior forward Jourdan Stickler at the 9:26 mark. A floater by Green gave the Owls a one-point advantage, but Vilde answered with a hook shot. Mency hit a short jumper, then Lasher scored eight in a row, hitting a trey, getting inside for a layup and drilling another three to put the Huskies up, 24-17, with 5:30 to go.
 
Jackson stopped the spurt with a layup, Maurice Rivers added one and Gearhart made a pair of free throws to get the Owls back to within one, but Chukwujekwu stepped to the line and knocked down a pair, Odunsi took a steal the distance for a layup and added two free throws to push the Huskies' lead back to seven with 2:12 on the clock. Rivers hit a jumper with 20 seconds left, but Lasher drove down and sank a baseline floater at the buzzer to send HBU to a 32-25 lead at the break.
 
In the first half, HBU shot 39.3 percent, including 4-for-10 from 3-point range, and 6-for-10 from the line, while Rice shot 37.5 percent, 1-of-9 from long distance, and 6-for-7 from the line. The Huskies outrebounded the Owls, 22-13, in the opening frame. Lasher led HBU with 10 points and Gearhart had six for Rice.
 
Gearhart opened the second-half scoring with a three for Rice, but Vilde made a layup and Lasher made a steal and drove in for two to extend HBU's lead to eight. Gearhart hit a short jumper from the block, but Lasher pulled up for a 16-footer, then drove in for a layup to put the Huskies ahead, 40-30, right at the 16:00 mark.
 
The Owls got back-to-back buckets by Andrew Drone and Guercy, then freshman center Ibarra took a feed from freshman guard Trey Patterson for a layup. Jackson answered with a layup of his own, but senior guard Tyler Russell sank a 17-footer and senior guard Marcel Smith put the Huskies back up by 10 with a layup with 10:21 left. Jackson made one-of-two free throws, Drone made a pair and Jackson went up-and-under off the glass to cut HBU's lead to 46-41 at the 8:22 mark. A three by Guercy made it a two-point game, but Chukwujekwu stopped Rice's run with a layup, then Patterson made a steal and Chukwujekwu finished it off as the Huskies led by six with five minutes remaining. HBU drew an offensive foul on Gearhart, then Stickler hit another triple, but Mency answered with a three to keep Rice within six.
 
Gearhart drove in for a bucket, but Vilde came back with a layup and Odunsi made one-of-two free throws after a Lasher steal as HBU led by seven with under three to go. Ibarra blocked a shot by Jackson with 1:48 on the clock and the ball glanced off Jackson and went out of bounds, giving HBU the ball back. The Owls drew an offensive foul, then Gearhart sank four-straight free throws as HBU remained on top at 56-53 with 38 seconds remaining. Vilde missed the front end of a one-and-one with 33 seconds left, then Guercy made a layup with 23 seconds left to draw Rice within one.
 
Odunsi hit two from the stripe with 20 ticks on the clock, putting HBU back up by three, and Rice missed three three-point attempts in the closing moments as the Huskies held on for their second-straight win over the Owls.
 
The Huskies return to action when they travel to face the University of San Francisco Sunday at 4 p.m. CST at War Memorial Gymnasium in San Francisco.