THIBODAUX, La. – HBU rallied from an early 12-point to take a five-point lead in the second half, but the Huskies couldn't close out due to troubles at the free throw line in a 61-57 loss to Nicholls in Southland Conference basketball Tuesday night at Stopher Gym.
Sophomore forward
Colter Lasher went 6-for-10 from the field to lead HBU (6-8, 1-3 SLC) with 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior guard
Anthony Odunsi finished with 13 points and senior guard
Marcel Smith had seven. Freshman center
Josh Ibarra led the Huskies with eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Quinton Thomas led Nicholls (4-9, 1-2) with 18 points, while Sam McBeath had 11 points and led the Colonels with five rebounds. Liam Thomas scored nine points, all in the first half.
Nicholls shot 46 percent from the field, 4-for-12 from 3-point range, and 13-for-18 from the free throw line. HBU shot 44 percent, only 1-of-9 from long distance, and just 6-for-16 from the free throw line. The rebounds were even at 33, but Nicholls blocked 10 shots to HBU's four. The Huskies committed only eight turnovers.
HBU got off to a sluggish start as Liam Thomas scored the first seven points of the game for Nicholls, hitting a three, then going baseline for a couple of layups. Ibarra got the Huskies on the board on a pick-and-roll layup with Odunsi, but McBeath answered with a pair of short jumpers that put the Colonels ahead, 11-2.
Nicholls led 24-12 with 8:45 remaining, but the Huskies outscored the Colonels, 13-2, over the next 5:07, getting six points from Lasher and four from Smith during the spurt to slice their deficit to one. The Colonels scored the next five to restore their lead to six, but Odunsi spun into the lane for a layup. T.J. Carpenter then threw and alley-oop to Quentin Thomas for a dunk with 37 seconds left that gave Nicholls a 33-27 lead at the break.
Nicholls shot 48 percent in the first half, 3-for-7 from 3-point range, while HBU shot 41 percent, but went 0-for-4 from behind the arc. Liam Thomas had nine points for the Colonels, while Lasher and Ibarra had six apiece for the Huskies at halftime.
The Colonels maintained a six-point lead at 45-39 five minutes into the second half, but senior center
Ricmonds Vilde muscled in a layup and senior guard
Tyler Russell knocked down HBU's only three of the game to get the Huskies back within one. After Travis Julien hit a leaner off the glass for Nicholls, Russell buried a long jumper and Smith made one-of-two from the line to tie the game, 47-47, with 10:43 left. Smith's steal and putback gave HBU its first lead at the 10:18 mark and Russell sank one-of-two from the stripe to put the Huskies ahead by three.
Luka Kamber nailed a three from the top of the key to tie the game back up, but Odunsi drove inside for a layup and sophomore forward
Reveal Chukwujekwu knocked down a 15-footer to put HBU up by four. Carpenter came back with a layup for Nicholls, then Odunsi made the second of a pair of free throws to make the Huskies' lead 55-52 with 6:43 to go.
Lasher made a steal, then followed with a pair of free throws to give HBU a five-point lead with 4:35 remaining, but Julien took a feed from McBeath for a dunk to keep it at a one-possession game. Odunsi missed the front end of a one-and-one, then McBeath made two free throws on the other end and his layup with 1:28 left regained the lead for Nicholls, 58-57.
Quinton Thomas leaned in for a free throw line jumper to push the Colonels' lead to three with 38 seconds on the clock, then Odunsi missed the front end of a one-and-one, got the rebound and had a jumper blocked by Quinton Thomas. Quinton Thomas' free throw with three seconds left provided the final margin for Nicholls.
The Huskies return to action for the first game of a three-game homestand when they host New Orleans Saturday at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym. As part of HBU's 50
th Season Celebration, the All-Decade Teams for both the 1960s and 1970s will be announced and honored at halftime. Voting for all six teams continues online at HBUHuskies.com, but will end Friday at 11:59 p.m.
