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THIBODAUX, La. – HBU men's basketball got a career-high from
Edward Hardt but the Huskies fell to Nicholls, 94-67, in Southland Conference play on Saturday afternoon inside Stopher Gymnasium.
Edward Hardt's return to the starting lineup gave the Huskies (?-?, ?-? SLC) an early boost. At the first media timeout, the score was tied 10-10 with Hardt contributing six and all 10 HBU points coming in the paint. Nicholls (?-?, ?-? SLC) built its lead up to seven after a Lafayette Rutledge three with 10:02 on the clock but HBU responded with the next two buckets to make it 26-23. At that point, 22 of the Huskies' 23 points had come in the paint.
A jumper from
Braxton Bonds evened the score at 31-31 with 4:47 left in the half but the Colonels answered with a nine-point run and closed the first period by out-scoring HBU 13-6 to take a 44-37 lead into the locker room. Hardt and
Ian DuBose each had 10 points at the half for the Huskies.
In the second half, Nicholls forced five HBU turnovers in the first 4:04 and used those turnovers to open the period with a 14-4 run and lead 58-41 at the 13:53 mark. The Colonels continued to extend their lead as the second half went on with a lead of at least 19 over the final 10 minutes of the game.
DuBose led the Huskies with 15 points and eight rebounds, connecting on 6-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the free throw line. Hardt set a new career-high, going 7-of-10 from the field for 14 points while adding six rebounds.
Jalon Gates was the only other Husky to reach double-digits, finishing with 10 off the bench.
Philip McKenzie ended the day with seven points and seven rebounds while
Braxton Bonds had eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
Tevon Saddler led Nicholls with 22 points with Roddy Peters adding a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. The Colonels shot 57.1 percent (36-of-63) for the game, including 60 percent (18-of-30) in the second half, whil HBU finished 41.3 percent (24-of-63) from the floor. The Huskies won the rebounding battle, 35-33, with 13 of HBU's rebounds coming on the offensive end.
Up next for HBU is the Huskies' lone meeting against Northwestern State on Wednesday, Feb. 14, evening at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, La. with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m.
