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Anthony Odunsi posted his second double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead the HBU men's basketball team to a 72-59 win over UC Riverside on Tuesday night inside Sharp Gym.
Odunsi, who finished 2-for-4 from the field for HBU (4-6), made the most of his time at the charity stripe, collecting 14 points on 17 attempts, while pulling down of his all 11 rebounds on the defensive end. The native of Sugar Land, Texas, also finished with six assists.
Sophomore
Josh Ibarra joined Odunsi with 18 points, a season-high for the big man, while adding seven boards and two blocks against the Highlanders (5-5), as senior
Jourdan Stickler (13) and junior
Reveal Chukwujekwu (11) also finished in double figures for the Huskies on the night.
HBU shot 41.8 percent (23-55) from the field, 31.3 percent (5-16) from beyond the arc and 72.4 percent (21-29) from the free throw line. The Huskies outrebounded UCR, 42-37, pulling down 33 on the defensive glass.
Ibarra got HBU going early with a pair of layups to open the game. The Huskies led 15-6 at the 12:45 mark, before the Highlanders made their strongest run of night. UCR went on a 7-0 surge over a 3:28 stretch to pull within a basket, but HBU silenced the rally with an 11-0 run to take its first double-figure advantage at 24-13. The Huskies' lead never waned below seven points the remainder of the period to enter the lockeroom up 33-23 at halftime.
The Highlanders pulled within six points twice in the second half, but HBU had an answer both times to spoil their efforts en route to the 72-59 final. Odunsi scored 13 of his 18 total points in the half and Ibarra followed with eight points and six rebounds.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 4-0 at home.
HBU will be back in action on Saturday, visiting Arizona State in a 1:30 p.m. tip on Saturday televised on the Pac-12 Network.
Postgame Quotes – Head Coach Ron Cottrell
Opening comments…"I told our guys at the half I thought we had done a real good job of making that first punch and being the aggressor to start the game. We got a little bit of a lead and they made a run at us to cut it to 15-13, which good teams are going to do, but we ran it back out to 24-13 and then led by 10 at halftime. "In the second half, I thought we really turned it on. The guys defended unbelievably well. This is a team that averaged over 76 points coming in and we held them to 59. Defensively, that was as good a game as we played all year." On team's effort…"Off the bench, we had some really big help tonight. Isaiah Robinson did a really great job for us with three blocks. Caleb Crayton also did a terrific job, giving us a lift defensively late in the game. Caleb hit a three and had a steal that help us keep them at bay. "Overall, the guys stepped up tonight. This was a growing game for us and that is very important to have at this time of year. It is very exciting, certainly as a coach, to see the way they are playing right now." On team's showing at the free throw line…"Anytime you can get to the line 29 times, you have to take advantage of that. Late in the game, we knew UC Riverside was going to come after us physically, but our guys really buckled down and made their free throws." On upcoming game at Arizona State…"That will be a tough game for us, as they are playing really well right now, but our guys are excited. They want to build on the momentum we have going right now. We'll see what we can do on Saturday."
