Follow @HBUBasketball
HOUSTON – HBU men's basketball raced out to a quick 6-0 lead and never trailed as seven players reached double-digits scoring and the Huskies picked up a 108-67 victory over visiting Arlington Baptist in the team's home opener on Tuesday evening in Sharp Gym.
The Huskies (1-1) took advantage of a pair of forced turnovers and jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first 1:35 of the game. Arlington Baptist (0-4) managed to pull back within one when a Kel Wallace Jumper made the score 10-9 but an 11-2 run by HBU that was capped by a put-back layup from Philip McKenzie with 11:32 on the clock made it a 21-11 ballgame. Four minutes later, David Caraher put HBU up by 17 with a layup but a pair of Jashun Petite free throws at the 6:04 mark cut the HBU lead to 12. The Huskies then out-scored the Patriots 17-10 to close the half and take a 51-32 lead into the intermission.
Will Gates Jr. capped a 9-2 run to start the second period with a fast break layup just over two and a half minutes in. Arlington Baptist's Quinton Moore got hot from deep, knocking down three three-pointers in a 45 second span, bringing the Patriots within 22 but the Huskies responded with a 12-2 run to lead 77-45 with 11:43 remaining. HBU continued to build its lead the rest of the way with all 13 players who saw the court scoring at least two points.
Caraher, who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in his collegiate debut, one-upped himself by again leading all players in both scoring and rebounding with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and eight boards. Sophomore Jalon Gates tied his career-high with 13 points, knocking down 3-of-7 from deep and 5-of-10 from the floor. Gates Jr. ended the night with 11 points on 5-0f-9 shooting.
Edward Hardt posted 10 points and seven rebounds to go along with a pair of blocked shots while Braxton Bonds finished with 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Ian DuBose had 10 points, six rebounds, three assists an three steals while Oliver Lynch-Daniels put up 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
As a team, HBU out-rebounded the Patriots 52-26 with 22 of the Huskies' rebounds coming on the offensive end and leading to 32 second chance points. The Huskies shot 53 percent (44-of-83) from the field and were 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from long-range. HBU scored 66 of its 108 points inside the paint while holding Arlington Baptist to just 26.
Markel Semien led the Patriots with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting while Kel Wallace added 12 points and six rebounds and Quinton Moore scored 12. Arlington Baptist shot 38.1 percent (24-of-63) for the game. HBU is now 6-0 all-time against Arlington Baptist.
HBU begins a four-game road swing this Saturday, Nov. 18, when the Huskies travel to Nashville, Tenn. to face Belmont at 3:30 p.m. before taking on either Detroit Mercy or Seattle on Sunday afternoon. HBU will then travel to Blacksburg, Va. to play Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The three-game stretch in four days is all part of the 2K Classic Benefitting Wounded Warrior Project.
