HUNTSVILLE, Texas – HBU outscored Sam Houston State, 22-10, over the final 7:43, but the Huskies had dug themselves too deep of a hole, as the Bearkats held on for a 63-52 victory in Southland Conference basketball Saturday afternoon at Johnson Coliseum.
Senior center
Ricmonds Vilde led HBU (9-9, 4-4 SLC) with 12 points and pulled down five rebounds off the bench, while sophomore forward
Colter Lasher added 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field. Sophomore forward
Reveal Chukwujekwu grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies on the glass. Senior guard
Marcel Smith and junior guard
Anthony Odunsi each had seven points.
Jabari Peters had 13 points and six rebounds for SHSU (16-5, 8-1), while Kaheem Ransom had 10 poitns and six assists. Michael Holyfield scored eight points, pulled down 10 rebounds and added three blocked shots for the Bearkats. DeMarcus Gatlin and Aurimas Majauskas also scored eight apiece.
SHSU shot 44.4 percent, but only 7-for-20 from 3-point range, while HBU shot 35.0 percent, and only 2-for-9 from long distance. The Bearkats went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line, while the Huskies went 8-for-13. HBU outrebounded SHSU, 41-35, and have outrebounded its opponent in all but four games.
Marquel McKinney, Majauskas and Peters each hit threes as SHSU outscored HBU, 9-2, and gave the Bearkats an 18-9 lead with 12:23 to go. Smith hit a long two and a layup, then Jamal Williams answered by banking in a runner, Paul Baxter drove in for a layup and sank a floater to extend SHSU's lead to 24-13 with just under eight minutes left.
Lasher's jumper with 5:09 on the clock cut the Bearkats' lead to 10 and ended a 5:12 drought without a field goal for the Huskies. After SHSU went ahead, 29-17, Vilde powered inside for two, but missed a chance for a three-point play, then Odunsi twisted in the lane for a short jumper to draw HBU within seven with 1:48 remaining. Ransom made a three with 40 seconds left, then Odunsi hit one-of-two from the line as the Huskies trailed 32-22 heading into the break.
SHSU shot 42.9 percent from the field, but only 5-for-14 from behind the arc, while HBU shot 32.1 percent, 1-for-6 from deep, in the first half. Vilde led the Huskies with six, while Ransom and Baxter also had six apiece for the Bearkats in the opening frame.
Odunsi opened the second-half scoring with a jumper off the glass, then freshman center
Josh Ibarra got a tip-in to get HBU within six, but Ransom made a 14-footer. Chukwujekwu had a putback jarred from the rim when Holyfield grabbed the net and pulled the basket down, but no call was made, and the Bearkats got a three-point play from Gatlin on the other end. A layup by Peters, then one by Ransom put SHSU up, 41-26, with 15:35 remaining.
Vilde ended the Bearkats' 9-0 run with a sweeping hook shot, but Peters responded with a long jumper. Lasher made up-and-under baseline layup, but Majauskaus' three at the 13-minute mark made the score, 46-30. Baskets by Holyfield and Dakarai Henderson and a three by McKinney extended SHSU's lead to 23 with 8:45 on the clock.
The Huskies went on a 10-0 run, getting a jumper by Ibarra, a three-point play by Lasher, a three by Smith and a layup by Vilde to slice the Bearkats lead to 57-44 with just over four minutes to go. A pair of free throws by freshman forward
Terry Harris got HBU back within single digits at 59-50 with just under two minutes to go. That was as close as the Huskies would get as SHSU went on to the 11-point decision.
The Huskies return to action when they host Abilene Christian Monday at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym.
