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HOUSTON – Braxton Bonds scored a career-best 22 and Atif Russell had 15 off the bench as HBU downed Incarnate Word, 84-70, in Southland Conference action on Saturday night at Sharp Gym.
 
Bonds was 8-of-12 from the floor for and a 6-7 at the charity stripe for 22 points, eclipsing his previous career-mark of 13. The sophomore guard also pulled down seven assists. Senior Colter Lasher added 19 for the Huskies (9-12, 5-6 SLC), connecting on 6-of-14 for the game and 3-of-6 from three-point range while also dishing out five assists.
 
Russell, in 24 minutes off the bench, knocked down 6-of-9 from the floor for 15 points to go along with five rebounds. Reveal Chukwujekwu recorded his sixth double-double of the season, posting finals of 14 points and 12 rebounds while matching a career-best with four steals. Josh Ibarra pulled down nine boards for HBU and added six points.
 
UIW (10-12, 5-6 SLC) was led by Shawn Johnson with 22 points, hitting 5-of-11 from deep. Simi Socks finished the night with 18, Tyler Singleton had 12 and Jalin Hart scored 11. The Cardinals got all but seven of their points from four players.
 
Incarnate Word got out to a 13-8 lead after a Sam Burmeister three just under five minutes into the game with the Cardinals maintaining a lead and pushing it to eight, 24-16, on a Johnson three at the 9:33 mark. After falling behind by their largest deficit of the game, 27-18, the Huskies closed out the first period with a 20-8 run capped by a pair of Lasher free throws with 53 seconds on the clock to take a 38-35 advantage into the half.
 
After UIW opened scoring in the second stanza with a three to knot the game at 38-all, HBU regained the lead and never looked back. A Bonds layup 4:30 into the period ended a 10-point run for the Huskies and made it an eight-point ballgame. A pair of Russell free throws pushed the lead 10 at the 12:12 mark and Incarnate Word made a push to get back in the game, getting as close as four, 60-56, with 6:35 remaining. From that point on, HBU closed out the game by out-scoring the Cardinals 24-14 and led by as many as 17 with just over a minute to play.
 
The Huskies more than doubled the Cardinals rebounding total, finishing with a 48-23 advantage on the boards, including 20 on the offensive end. HBU, 22^nd in the nation in offensive rebounding heading into the game, turned those 20 offensive rebounds into 28 second-chance points. The Huskies also held a 40-28 advantage in points scored in the paint. HBU finished the game shooting 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the field and knocked down 83.3 percent (25-of-30) from the free throw line. Incarnate Word finished the night 25-of-61 (41 percent) from the floor.
 
The Huskies head to Natchitoches, La. to face the Demons of Northwestern State on Thursday, Feb. 9, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.