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Buy Photos HereBEAUMONT, Texas – The HBU men's basketball team remained unbeaten in Southland Conference play, improving to 7-0 with a 92-79 victory at Lamar on Saturday evening inside Montagne Center.
The win marks the eighth straight for the Huskies (12-7, 7-0 SLC), tying the program's best streak since the 2012-13 season.
HBU placed five players in double figures against the Cardinals (10-9, 2-5 SLC), as sophomore
Josh Ibarra recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds. The native of Angleton, Texas, finished 8-for-11 from the floor and pulled down six boards on both sides of the ball to go along with a season-high five blocks. Ibarra's five blocks moves him into seventh place all-time in program history with 84 for his career.
Senior
Anthony Odunsi led all with 19 points, finishing 6-for-17 from the field and 7-for-9 at the free throw line, adding five assists. Junior
Colter Lasher shot 6-for-13 with three made 3-pointers for 15 points in his return to the starting lineup, while junior
Reveal Chukwujekwu and freshman
Asa Cantwell registered 12 and 11 points, respectfully.
The Huskies shot 50.0 percent (35-70) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-16) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (16-24) at the charity stripe. HBU outscored Lamar 42-25 in the paint, 20-10 in second chance opportunities and 10-5 in the fast break.
Both teams traded baskets in the early going, as HBU and the Cardinals sat tied at 10-all through the opening six minutes of play. After Lamar's LeMon Gregory (layup) and Kevin Booze (3-pointer) combined for five points across the team's next two possessions, the Huskies responded with an 8-0 surge over a 1:06 span to take claim an 18-15 edge.
Up 18-17, HBU used a 16-4 run to pull away from the Cardinals, highlighted by six points from Odunsi and 3-pointers from both Cantwell and Lasher.
Lamar's Lincoln Davis turned in two perfect trips to the foul line to cut the lead to back nine points, but the Huskies held a 6-4 advantage the rest of the half to enter the lockerroom up 40-29.
The Cardinals rallied out of the break, outscoring HBU 12-4 over the first four minutes to cut it to a four-point game at 48-44. However, the Huskies quelled the momentum shift with a 16-6 run of their own over the next 4:17 to go back up by double figures. Despite several pushes, HBU's lead never fell below five points over the final 11 minutes to secure the team's first win at Lamar since the 1975-76 season.
The Huskies will be back in action on Monday, Jan. 25, hosting Hillsdale Baptist in a "White Out" at 7 p.m. inside Sharp Gym. Fans are asked to wear white to the game.
Postgame Quotes – Head Coach Ron Cottrell
Opening comments…"Whenever you play a road conference game, you know you're going to get the other team's best shot, especially when you're in first place. Lamar is a team that we knew would challenge us coming in. They were going to pressure us and really be a force that wouldn't let up throughout the game with their defensive pressure." On continuing to improve…"I spoke with the team after the game about playing with confidence and building each time out. We need to be happy that we win ballgames, absolutely, but we also have to understand that we still aren't playing our best yet. As long as we know we can keep improving, we won't get complacent and stay on the path."
