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RUSTON, La. – The HBU men's basketball team got a strong performance by its starting five with each Husky starter scoring at least 10 points but dropped a tough 85-78 decision to Louisiana Tech on Saturday evening inside the Thomas Assembly Center.
 
The first half was back-and-forth in the early-going with Louisiana Tech (5-3) pulling ahead on a layup by JaColby Pemberton at the 13:54 mark. A few minutes later, the Bulldogs used an 8-0 run to push their lead as high as nine but the Huskies (2-4) answered with a six-point burst to get back to within three.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Philip McKenzie and Stephen O'Suji again brought the HBU deficit to one, 25-24, with 5:36 left in the half. The La. Tech lead didn't get any higher than four the rest of the half and an apparent buzzer-beating three-pointer by Jackson Stent was initially ruled good but overturned after video review, sending HBU into the half trailing 39-36.
 
Two quick baskets in the second half from Edward Hardt and Oliver Lynch-Daniels put HBU ahead 40-39 less than a minute into the second period. The Bulldogs regained the lead on their next possession and held a lead for the next three-plus minutes until Lynch-Daniels dropped in a fast-break layup following an O'Suji three for a 48-47 HBU advantage.
 
Louisiana Tech again responded on the following possession to regain the lead and the Bulldogs got up 59-52 with 11:17 on the clock for their largest lead of the half until the final 30 seconds. The Huskies stayed within six, getting to a one-point deficit multiple times, including on a DuBose layup just under the seven-minute mark. A McKenzie layup with 2:54 left made it a 78-76 ballgame but a La. Tech jumper and free throws down the stretch kept the Huskies at bay.
 
DuBose led HBU with 19 points, 12 of which came in the second half, on 7-of-13 shooting. The sophomore was 2-of-3 from deep and added six rebounds and three assists. Lynch-Daniels grabbed a career-best seven rebounds and poured in a season-high 15 points to go along with five assists. O'Suji, making the first start of his career, finished a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor and set new career-highs in points (10), assists (5) and rebounds (5). McKenzie had 10 points and four rebounds.
 
As a team, HBU shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the field and was 35 percent (7-of-20) from three. The Bulldogs shots 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from the floor and made just 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from deep. La. Tech won the battle on the boards, 42-31, and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second chance points.
 
HBU will next head to San Marcos, Texas for a matchup with the Bobcats of Texas State next Saturday, Dec. 8, for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off at Strahan Arena.