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ABILENE, Texas – HBU out-shot and out-rebounded Abilene Christian but suffered a hard-luck loss in the final game of a three-game road stretch, falling to the Wildcats 75-68 on Wednesday night in Southland Conference play at Moody Coliseum.
 
A pair of Edward Hardt free throws gave HBU (5-10, 1-3 SLC) a 6-2 lead just over three minutes into the game but Abilene Christian (15-3, 4-1 SLC) responded with nine-point run to go up 13-6. An Ian DuBose layup and a Jackson Stent three brought the Huskies back to within two, 13-11, with a little more than 12 minutes left in the half.
 
ACU pushed its lead as high as seven on two occasions the rest of the half, leading 27-20 with 5:03 on the clock. Braxton Bonds then answered with a layup and Hardt made a pair of free throws on the Huskies' ensuing possession to get within three. Trailing by six, four consecutive DuBose free throws put HBU within two, 30-28, with 2:53 remaining. The Wildcats' Joe Pleasant extended their lead back to four with a layup but Ty Dalton answered for the Huskies with a three followed by a Hardt layup with 41 seconds to go to give HBU its first lead in more than 14 minutes. ACU got a jumper from Jaylen Franklin to take a 34-33 lead into the half.
 
The score remained close early in the second half with ACU holding a 47-46 lead at the 13:26 mark. The Wildcats then went on a 7-0 run to lead by eight, their largest lead of the game. A pair of Pleasant free throws again put the Huskies down by eight but a 10-3 run again made it a one-point game, 59-58, with just over eight minutes to go.
 
After a pair of missed ACU free throws, DuBose drained a three on the other end to put HBU ahead by two. The teams then traded baskets with Jaren Lewis evening things up, 63-63, on a tip-in and then putting ACU ahead by two with a pair of free throws at the 3:21 mark. DuBose made one of two from the charity stripe before a five-point Wildcat run made the HBU deficit six with just 1:33 to go. A pair of layups from Stent and Bonds got the Huskies back to within two with just 37 seconds remaining. From there, HBU went cold and ACU made its free throws to extend its lead out to seven to close out the game.
 
DuBose finished with his fourth double-double of the season, totaling 18 points and 11 rebounds while also adding five assists. Hardt ended the night with 16 points, connecting on 6-of-10 from the floor, while Bonds added 11 for the Huskies. Stent finished the game 3-of-4 from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, to score eight.
 
HBU out-shot the Wildcats 50 percent to 48.3 percent and held a 33-29 advantage on the boards but was undone by 20 turnovers while forcing ACU into just 12. ACU attempted eight more shots for the game than the Huskies.
 
ACU's Jalone Friday led all scorers with 21 points and had eigeht rebounds for the Wildcats while Jaren Lewis added 13 points and B.J. Maxwell had 10.
 
The Huskies will return home after playing three-straight on the road for a Saturday, Jan. 19, matchup against Sam Houston State in Sharp Gym with tip-off slated for 7:00 p.m.