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LAKE CHARLES, La. – Down by 20 with just 12:52 left to play, HBU closed out the final eight minutes of the game with a 20-4 run to pull out an 81-79 Southland Conference victory over the McNeese Cowboys on Thursday night at the Burton Coliseum.
The Huskies (14-12, 9-6 SLC) took an early 12-six lead after a six-point run capped by a pair of
Reveal Chukwujekwu layups but a six minutes scoring drought by HBU allowed McNeese (7-19, 4-11 SLC) to get out to a 16-12 lead. A
Jalon Gates three with 9:15 on the clock made it 16-15 but the Cowboys answered with a 12-3 run for a 28-18 lead. The Huskies got as close as four with 3:27 left in the half but McNeese pulled away again to take a 38-27 lead into halftime.
In the second half, McNeese came out hot from behind the arc, knocking down four threes in the first three minutes of the half to build a 50-34 lead with 17:08 to go. The Cowboys extended their lead as high as 20 after a Stephen Ugochukwu dunk with 12:52 on the clock. McNeese maintained a double-digit lead and lead by 17 before Gates was fouled on a three-point attempt and knocked down all three free throws to make it 75-61 with eight minutes remaining.
Atif Russeell hit four free throws and Chukwujekwu added a layup to cut the HBU deficit down to single-digits with 5:30 left but the Huskies couldn't get any closer than eight and with four and a half minutes on the clock, McNeese led 79-69. From that moment on, the HBU defense clamped down and didn't allow another Cowboy basket. At the 2:59 mark,
Alex Fountain drained a three that made it a five-point game before
Braxton Bonds made a pair of free throws at the 2:22 mark to bring the score to 79-76. Two trips down the floor later,
Asa Cantwell got a good look from the corner in front of the Husky bench and buried his fourth three of the game to tie it at 79-79 with just 1:11 to go. After a McNeese shot clock violation gave HBU the ball with 37 seconds on the clock, senior
Colter Lasher hit a huge jumper from the top of the key with 13 seconds left to give the Huskies their first lead since there were 12 minutes left in the first half. On the final McNeese trip down the floor, Jamaya Burr's last second three fell well short off the front of the iron to secure the win for HBU.
Atif Russell helped spur the HBU comeback with 14 points off the bench, all in the second half, to lead the Huskies in scoring. The senior was 4-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. Cantwell finished 4-of-8 from deep for 12 points while Fountain added 11 off the bench. Lasher and
Josh Ibarra also finished in double-figures scoring the ball with 10 apiece.
Another big factor in the comeback was HBU not committing a single turnover in the second half and giving the ball away just five times in the game, the Huskies' lowest total this season. Meanwhile, HBU forced the Cowboys into 18 turnovers, 11 of which came in the second period. The Huskies heled a 40-37 advantage on the boards and pulled down 22 rebounds on the offensive end.
McNeese shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) for the game compared to HBU's 34.7 percent (26-of-75). Ledoux led all players behind 7-of-15 shooting while knocking down 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The Huskies close out the road portion of the 2016-17 schedule on Saturday, Feb. 25, with a visit to Beaumont, Texas to take on the Lamar Cardinals at the Montagne Center with tip-off at 4:30 p.m.
