LAKE CHARLES, La. – HBU sophomore forward
Colter Lasher poured in a career-high 25 points as the Huskies defeated McNeese State, 68-56, for their first-ever Southland Conference road win Monday night at Burton Coliseum.
The Huskies were relentless defensively as they held the Cowboys scoreless for the last 5:07 of the first half and the final 4:20 of the second half. HBU ended the first half on an 11-0 run and a 14-1 run midway through the second helped maintain control after McNeese State cut the deficit to four.
"I thought our guys came out early and really set the tone on the defensive end and made it tough for McNeese to get good looks," HBU head coach
Ron Cottrell said. "When you win conference games, particularly conference road games, it's because you play defense, and we really picked up what we've been working on and what we've practiced. Every team has a formula for winning ball games and our guys kind of finally understood that formula tonight."
Lasher went 10-for-16 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the line to eclipse his previous high of 17 and also pulled down four rebounds for the Huskies (6-6, 1-1 SLC). Junior guard
Anthony Odunsi went 4-for-7 from both the field and the line to finish with 12 points and three assists. Senior guard
Tyler Russell added nine points, while senior guard
Marcel Smith had eight points and took over 15
th place on HBU's all-time assists list at 251 for his career, as he dished out three. Senior center
Ricmonds Vilde led the Huskies on the glass with 13 rebounds, while sophomore forward
Reveal Chukwujekwu had seven.
Desharick Guidry went 6-for-14 from the field and 8-for-11 from the line to lead McNeese State (6-7, 0-2) with 22 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Hardy had 16 points and nine rebounds, while no other Cowboys scored more than four points.
HBU shot 42 percent from the field, 5-for-16 from 3-point range, and went 9-for-14 from the line, while McNeese State shot 33 percent, only 6-for-23 from long distance, but went 16-for-21 from the line. The Huskies outrebounded the Cowboys, 43-36, and the two teams played a clean game with HBU only committing nine turnovers and McNeese State only 10. HBU outscored McNeese State, 38-20, in the paint, 12-4 off turnovers and 10-2 on fast breaks.
HBU led 6-4 after Vilde's second layup in the early going, but McNeese State scored five-straight to go up by three. The Huskies answered by scoring the next seven as Odunsi sank a pair of free throws, Lasher buried a three then made a steal and took it the distance for a 13-9 lead with 11:04 remaining. Guidry hit a three, Hardy drove in for a dunk to regain the lead for the Cowboys, then Hardy made one-of-two free throws, but sophomore forward
Alex Fountain hit a free-throw line jumper and got a friendly roll for the Huskies to tie the game at 15 with 7:47 left.
Stephen Ogochukwu drove in for a layup, but Odunsi found Lasher for a reverse layup to keep it tied. After Ogochukwu made one-of-two and Hardy made a pair of free throws for McNeese State, Russell drilled a triple to tie it at 20 with 4:45 to go. Lasher went up-and-under for a layup, then he and Smith hit back-to-back threes, with Smith's coming just before the buzzer, as HBU took a 28-20 lead into halftime. The Huskies ended the half on an 11-0 run, during which they held the Cowboys scoreless for the final 5:07.
HBU shot 38 percent, including 4-for-11 from 3-point range, while holding McNeese State to just 29 percent and 2-for-7 from behind the arc in the opening frame. Lasher led all scorers with 14 points in the half, while Hardy and Guidry each had five for the Cowboys.
McNeese State scored the first six points of the second half on layups by Guidry, Garrett and Hardy, but Odunsi ended the spurt by powering in for a layup. Hardy made a pair of free throws, but Chukwujekwu rattled home a jumper, Vilde got a putback and a fast-break layup by Odunsi restored HBU's lead to eight at 36-28 with just under 15 minutes to go.
After Guidry made one-of-two, HBU scored the next eight on a layup by Odunsi and a pair of three-point plays by Lasher and Russell to lead 44-29 with 12:53 left. Guidry ended the run with a three-point play, but Lasher answered with a layup. Shaun Johnson made a deep three, Guidry hit one, then Hardy drove in for a layup as McNeese State cut the deficit to six, but Russell knocked down a three as the Huskies maintained a 49-40 lead at the midway point.
Lance Potier made a three to slice HBU's lead to four, but Smith rushed up the floor for a layup on the other end. Guidry got free inside for a layin off the glass, but Odunsi finished off a three-point play as the Huskies led 56-49 with 7:22 on the clock. A tip-in by Lasher and a floater of the glass by Smith extended HBU's lead to nine, but Hardy hit a fadeaway three to make the score 60-54 with 5:05 left. That would be the Cowboys last field goal of the game as the Huskies outscored them, 8-2, down the stretch.
Chukwujekwu made a steal and layup, Lasher drove inside for a short jumper, then he sank a pair of free throws with 1:14 left that put the Huskies up by 11 and iced the game.
The Huskies will have two more games in Louisiana before returning home, as they face Southeastern Louisiana Saturday in Hammond and Nicholls Tuesday, Jan. 13, in Thibodaux.
