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BEAUMONT, Texas – Ian DuBose finished with 18 points and Jalon Gates added 17 but the HBU men's basketball team dropped its Southland Conference opener at the Montagne Center on Thursday evening by a score of 86-68.
 
Lamar (8-5, 1-0 SLC) got out to a 10-0 lead with seven of those points coming from James Harrison before a Gates three at the 15:24 mark in the first half got the Huskies (4-10, 0-1 SLC) on the board. HBU pulled within four on three occasions, including when a DuBose three-pointer at the 9:15 mark made it a 22-18 game. A Nick Garth trey with 5:35 on the clock gave Lamar its largest lead of 11 but HBU out-scored the Cardinals 6-2 to close the half and head into the locker room trailing 36-29.
 
After the Huskies got within five on an early Gates three, Lamar raced out with a 25-12 run to lead 64-46 with 13:27 left to play. Three straight baskets by Oliver Lynch-Daniels, including a pair of threes, pulled HBU within 10 but the Huskies couldn't get any closer as Lamar shot 63.3 percent from the field in the second half.
 
The Huskies finished the night shooting 42.6 percent (26-of-61) but connected at a 56.7 percent clip in the second half. The Cardinals, meanwhile, shot 48.5 percent (33-of-68) from the floor and 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from beyond the arc. With the Huskies missing their top two scorers and rebounders, Lamar was able to hold a 43-33 advantage on the boards.
 
DuBose led HBU with 18 points to go along with a career-best four blocked shots while Gates added 17 points. Junior Braxton Bonds ended the night with eight assists, seven points, three steals and three rebounds. Chukuka Emili added seven points and seven rebounds while Philip McKenzie led the Huskies with eight boards.
 
Harrison led all players with a career-high 22 points, knocking down 8-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three. Zjori Bosha finished with 19 points for Lamar while Josh Neakor had a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds.
 
HBU returns home to Sharp Gym on Saturday, Dec. 30 to host defending SLC champion New Orleans at 7:00 p.m.