Follow @HBUBasketball
HBU Huskies (7-7, 3-1 SLC) vs. Central Arkansas Bears (3-13, 2-1 SLC)
Thursday, Jan. 12 – 8:05 p.m.
Sharp Gym – Houston, Texas
TV | Audio (Lonnie King)
Live Stats
Game Notes
Game Program
HOUSTON – The HBU men's basketball team looks to improve to 4-1 in conference play when it hosts Central Arkansas to close out a three-game Southland Conference homestand on Thursday night in Sharp Gym with tip-off at 8:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the American Sports Network with Randy McIlvoy providing play-by-play and analysis from Van Chancellor. Additionally, fans can listen to the live audio broadcast with Lonnie King on the Legacy Sports Network available at HBUHuskies.com.
The Huskies (7-7, 3-1 SLC), sporting a perfect 6-0 record at home, have won the first two games of their current homestand by an average of nine points. In their last win over McNeese, the Huskies closed the game with a 17-4 run to take the 60-49 victory. Junior
Josh Ibarra led all players with 18 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Colter Lasher added 17 in the win, leaving him just two points shy of 1,000 for his career.
HBU, presently second in the conference standings, is out-rebounding opponents by 3.5 per game. Additionally, the Huskies are 31
st nationally with 13.36 offensive boards per game, the best mark in the conference. Lasher,
Reveal Chukwujekwu and Ibarra are all averaging double-figures in scoring and are accounting for 48.2 percent of the team's points. In their six home games this season, the Huskies are out-scoring opponents 520-381 for an average margin of victory of 23.1 points.
Central Arkansas (3-13, 2-1 SLC) is coming off an 81-76 road win over Abilene Christian. Mathieu Kamba and Jordan Howard both poured in 28 points in the win, combining to shoot 18-of-26 from the field. As a team, the Bears held a 44-26 advantage on the boards and hot 50 percent for the game. In that game, UCA committed 19 turnovers to the Abilene Christian's eight and took advantage of the Wildcats connecting on just 7-of-20 from the free throw line.
Howard, the second-leading scorer in the conference, is averaging 19.1 points and shooting 44.7 percent (51-114) from three-point range. Kamba and Derreck Brooks are both averaging more than 12 points per game and pulling down 7.1 and 6.8 rebounds per game, respectively. As a team, UCA owns a season scoring margin of -15.1 but the Bears have tightened things up in their three SLC games with all three games being decided by five points or less.
The Huskies own a 3-1 all-time record against the Bears and have won the last three meetings. Last season, HBU took a 72-61 decision on the road in Conway, Ark. and the last time the two met in Sharp Gym was an 84-61 win during the 2014-15 season.
A three-game road swing awaits the Huskies beginning Saturday afternoon in San Antonio when they face off against Incarnate Word at 3:00 p.m.
