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NATCHITOCHES, La. – A 32-8 run to close the first half and a dominating night by the Huskies' starting five led to a comfortable 86-69 Southland Conference victory over the Northwestern State Demons on Thursday night at Prather Coliseum.
 
Both teams came out shooting the ball well with Northwestern State (9-13, 3-8 SLC) holding a 13-10 lead at the first media break. Iziahiah Sweeney and Sabri Thompson accounted for all 13 of the Demons' first points as they didn't miss a shot in their first five attempts. After a Josh Boyd three gave the Demons a 16-13 lead, Colter Lasher dropped in a layup but NSU responded with a three from big man Josh Bell for a 19-15 lead just over 12 minutes into the game.
 
Thanks to a pair of threes and a free throw from Asa Cantwell following a technical foul on Reginald Kissoonlal, the Huskies (10-12, 6-6 SLC) rode a 9-2 run to a 24-21 lead with 7:40 remaining in the first half. The Huskies continued to push their lead with a Reveal Chukwujekwu three-point play, a layup with a free throw, made it 33-23 with 3:53 on the clock.
 
HBU kept pushing and after a Josh Ibarra layup with six seconds left, the Huskies forced a quick turnover and Lasher banked in a three from close to half-court to send HBU into the locker at the half with a 47-27 lead. The Huskies closed the first half out-scoring the Demons 32-8 over the final 11:42 of the period.
 
In the second half, the Demons made a small run, cutting the HBU lead to 14 after a pair of layups from Tra'von Joseph and a free throw by Boyd made the score 53-39. The Huskies responded by extending their lead back to 20 following a Cody Stetler layup at the 12:18 mark.
 
Over the next three minutes, Northwestern State went on an 11-3 run to cut the HBU lead to 62-50. After the Huskies went back up 17, Thompson accounted for seven-straight points for NSU and bringing the score to 72-62 with 4:02 to go, the closest they had been since the 3:55 mark in the first half. That was as close as the Demons would get as HBU closed the game with a 14-7 run.
 
Ibarra, a junior, enjoyed a career night, totaling 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting and grabbing 14 rebounds. It was the first time for the big man to eclipse 20 points in his career and the 14 boards included nine on the offensive end. Cantwell also set a new career-best in scoring with 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Chukwujekwu posted his seventh double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Lasher added 11 points along with five assists while Braxton Bonds also had 11 points paired with seven rebounds. The Huskies' five starters all reached double-digits in scoring and accounted for all but seven of the HBU points.
 
Sabri Thompson scored 24 for the Demons while Sweeney added 13. The Huskies dominated the paint, scoring 52 of their 86 points in the paint and owning a 43-27 advantage on the boards, pulling down 16 on the offensive end.
 
HBU returns home for Retro Night at Sharp Gym, hosting the Lamar Cardinals on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 7:00 p.m. Saturday night's game is sponsored by Houston Federal Credit Union.