Photo GalleryHOUSTON – HBU took control over Ecclesia with an early 23-2 run, then the Huskies clamped down on defense the rest of the night as they cruised to a 98-47 victory in the final non-conference game of the season Tuesday night at Sharp Gym.
Sophomore forward
Colter Lasher was 5-for-10 from the field and made all three of his 3-point attempts to lead the Huskies (5-5) with 15 points. Junior guard
Caleb Crayton came off the bench and sparked HBU with 13 points, while sophomore guard
Reveal Chukwujekwu tied his career-high with 12 points to go along with six rebounds, and sophomore center
Cody Stetler had 12 points and seven boards off the bench. Freshman center
Josh Ibarra added seven points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and four assists.
Wesley Bradford and D.J. Wallace each scored 14 points for Ecclesia (4-8). The rest of the Royals combined for 19 points, and Michael Richardson led them on the glass with six boards.
HBU shot 54.4 percent from the field, going 37-for-68 from the field, and 6-of-14 from behind the arc. Ecclesia shot only 26.0 percent from the field and 2-for-12 from 3-point range. The Huskies went 18-fo-21 from the free-throw line, while the Royals went 19-for-29. HBU outrebounded Ecclesia, 54-22, leading to a 52-18 advantage on points in the paint and 11-0 on second chances.
After Bradford hit a jumper to tie the game at four with 15:38 remaining, HBU went on a 23-2 run over the next 7:37, during which Crayton scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting and included a one-handed slam and a 3-pointer. Ecclesia stopped the spurt with a pair of free throws each by Richardson and Burroughs. Lasher scored six points in the final six minutes, but Bradford buried a pair of threes in the final minute to make the score 39-22 at halftime.
The Huskies shot 43.8 percent, including 3-for-6 from long distance, in the first half, while the Royals shot 29.2 percent, and only 2-for-7 from deep. Lasher led HBU with 10 points and Crayton had nine at the break, while Bradford had eight for Ecclesia.
HBU scored the first four of the second half as senior center
Ricmonds Vilde made a layup and Lasher got free for a breakaway dunk, but Ecclesia scored the next four on layup by Jarvis Green and a jumper by Bradford to keep the Huskies lead at 17. Shortly thereafter, HBU outscored Ecclesia, 9-2, as Lasher drilled a three, junior guard
Anthony Odunsi spun inside for a couple of layups and senior guard
Tyler Russell knocked down a baseline jumper to extend the Huskies' lead to 54-28 with 13:45 left.
Wallace made a pair of free throws for the Royals, but the Huskies scored eight-straight to lead by 32 with 11:44 on the clock. Junior guard
Jourdan Stickler hit an 18-footer that pushed HBU's lead to 36, but Wallace made a jumper at the 9:00 mark that ended a nine-minute field goal drought for Ecclesia. The Huskies scored the next seven as Stickler buried a three, senior guard
Marcel Smith sank a pair of technical free throws and Stickler found Stetler for a layup to put the Huskies ahead, 77-36, with 8:05 to go.
Stetler would score 12 of HBU's next 14 points as the lead grew to 93-47, then freshman forward
Terry Harris made a pair of free throws and junior guard
Mike Turner's three with 33 seconds left provided the final margin.
HBU is .500 for the first time after 10 games since returning to Division I play with the 2007-08 season and off to its best start since the 2006-07 squad started the year with an 8-2 mark.
The Huskies return to action when they host Northwestern State in the Southland Conference opener Saturday at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym.
