NORMAL, Ill. – The HBU men's basketball team entered the lockerroom down two points at halftime, but were unable to keep pace in the second half in falling 72-56 at Illinois State on Saturday night on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Sophomores
Josh Ibarra and
Trey Patterson led the Huskies (1-3) with 10 points each. Ibarra finished 5-of-9 from the floor with eight rebounds, two blocks and two assists, while Patterson knocked down two shots from the field and turned in a perfect 6-for-6 showing from the free throw line in 20 minutes played off the bench. Patterson's six hits from the charity stripe marked a career-high for the native of Plano, Texas.
Senior
Caleb Crayton narrowly missed double figures against the Redbirds (2-2), netting nine points, while junior
Reveal Chukwujekwu and freshman
Asa Cantwell followed with eight points apiece. Cantwell accounted for both of HBU's makes from deep, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half.
HBU shot 35.3 percent (18-51) from the field and season-high 75.0 percent (18-24) from the line. ISU edged the Huskies in rebounds, 36-35.
After an opening jumper from Redbird Paris Lee, Ibarra and Crayton gave HBU its lone lead of the game with buckets over the team's next two possessions. ISU then went on a 7-0 surge over the next four-plus minutes to take a 9-4 advantage, before the Huskies responded with quick baskets from Ibarra and senior
Anthony Odunsi to cut the deficit to one point.
The Redbirds maintained the lead and built it to a nine-point difference at 25-16, before HBU made another push. Over the final 4:19, the Huskies went on a 10-3 run, including a layup and 3-pointer from Cantwell in the closing 22 seconds, to trail 28-26 at the break.
HBU stayed within striking distance for the first several minutes of the second half and found itself down just five points (44-39) with 13:29 to go. Unfortunately, the Huskies were the recipients of a 7-0 run over the next 1:08 as ISU took the first double-digit lead of the game at 51-39. The lead never waned below 10 points the rest of the way en route to the 72-56 decision.
HBU, having closed its portion of non-bracketed play with the Cancun Challenge, will play its next two games at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya near Cancun, Mexico, to conclude the tournament. The Huskies will face South Dakota State on Tuesday in a 2 p.m. tip, before taking on either Cleveland State or Rider on Wednesday.
