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HOUSTON – HBU out-scored Abilene Christian by 12 in the second half to pick up the 81-72 victory over Abilene Christian on Saturday evening in Sharp Gym and close out the 2016-17 regular season on a nine-game winning streak, finishing tied for second in the Southland Conference heading into the SLC Tournament.
 
After a Colter Lasher three put HBU (17-12, 12-6 SLC) ahead 3-2 early in the game, Abilene Christian (13-17, 7-11 SLC) quickly regained the lead and held the lead throughout the first half. The Wildcats got up by as many as nine after a layup plus a free throw from Jaren Lewis with 11:45 left in the first half. The Huskies worked back to within four when a Reveal Chukwujekwu three made it 24-20 with 9:47 on the clock. ACU scored the next five points to ahead by nine but the Huskies closed out the half by out-scoring the Wildcats 10-4 to head into the locker room down 33-30.
 
It took just over a minutes to tie things up and then take a 38-37 lead on another Lasher three. ACU responded with a three from B.J. Maxwell before Chukwujekwu hit a pull-up jumper in the paint to even the score at 40-40. The Huskies wouldn't trail the rest of the way.
 
With HBU holding a leads bounding from one to three points, Atif Russell knocked down a three to put the Huskies ahead by four, 50-46, with 13:25 to go. Abilene Christian hung close, bringing the score tied at 56-56 after a Hayden Farquhar three at the 10:44 mark. Over the next three minutes and 14 second, HBU used a 9-2 run to go ahead by seven with 7:30 left. The Wildcats got as close as three but the Huskies kept their feet on the gas and led by as many as 13 when Russell hit another three with just under three to go.
 
Russell was the Huskies' top scorer, putting up 17 points in the second half to finish with 20 on 7-of-8 shooting. The senior was a perfect 4-of-4 from outside the arc. Lasher put up 18 points, shooting 6-of-14 and connecting on 5-of-10 from deep, to go along with five rebounds.
 
Chukwujekwu posted his 11^th double-double of the season, grabbing 12 rebounds and scoring 10 points while also dishing out five assists. Josh Ibarra had 11 points in the second half to finish with 13 points and five rebounds while Braxton Bonds added 11 points and six assists.
 
Lewis led the Wildcats with a double-double of his own, scoring 23 points and pulling down 11 boards. Farquhar added 16 while Maxwell scored 13. Jaylen Franklin had 10 points and seven assists.
 
The Huskies shot 60 percent (12-of-20) from three-point range for their best long-distance shooting game of the season while hitting 52.6 percent (30-of-57) for the game. HBU held a 33-28 advantage on the boards and took care of the ball, committing just nine turnovers.
 
HBU earned a first round bye in the Southland Tournament, taking place March 8-12 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. With a three-way tie for second, due to tiebreakers the Huskies will be the fourth seed and will play their first game of the tournament on Thursday, March 9, at 5:00 p.m. against the winner of Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas.