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LAKE CHARLES, La. – HBU got a career game from Stephen O'Suji but it wasn't enough as the Huskies went cold from the floor over the final nine minutes of the game, losing a six-point lead with 8:09 to play after trailing by 13 at the half and falling to McNeese, 79-73, on Wednesday afternoon at the H&HP Complex.
 
It took more than three minutes for HBU (5-13, 1-6 SLC) to get on the board after McNeese (7-13,3-4 SLC) got out to a quick 7-0 lead but Ian DuBose drained a three at the 16:53 mark followed by a Braxton Bonds fast break layup to cut it to 7-5. Trailing 9-7, Ty Dalton knocked down a three less than six minutes in to put the Huskies ahead 10-9.
 
McNeese regained the lead on the next trip down the floor on a James Harvey three and a pair of Philip McKenzie free throws evened the game at 12-12. The Cowboys then went on a 19-6 run over a nearly six minute span to lead 31-18 with 5:45 left in the half. HBU then answered with Stephen O'Suji scoring seven points in a row to cut the Huskies' deficit to six less than a minute and a half later. McNeese then closed the half out-scoring HBU 13-6 to lead 44-31 at the intermission.
 
The Huskies came out fired up in the second half, making four of their first five shots for a 9-0 run to cut the McNeese lead to 44-40 with 17:58 on the clock, forcing a Cowboy timeout. HBU kept the Cowboys off the board for more than four minutes until a Malik Hines dunk gave McNeese its first points of the half.
 
Down six, the Huskies scored on each of their next three possessions to tie it up at 46-46. After exchanging buckets, Roydell Brown made one of two from the charity stripe and on HBU's next possession, DuBose made a pair of free throws to give the Huskies their first lead, 50-49, since there were more than 14 minutes left in the first half.
 
HBU began to build a lead from there with a pair of Edward Hardt free throws pushing the Huskies lead to six, 64-58, with 8:09 to go. McNeese responded with the next five points thanks to a pair of Kevin Hunt free throws and a Roydell Brown and-one to bring the game to 64-63.
 
The Huskies led by two, 67-65, at the final media timeout and Brown made a pair of free throws after the stoppage to knot the score at 67-67 with 3:58 to play. After both teams traded single free throws, Harvey made his fifth three-pointer of the game for a three-point McNeese lead. Harvey then added a layup and Trey Touchet made a free throw to extend the Cowboys advantage to 74-68 with 2:08 remaining. McNeese led the rest of the way and a Dalton three with nine seconds to go broke a nine minute stretch without a field goal for the Huskies.
 
O'Suji finished with a new career-high of 17 points to lead the Huskies in scoring, connecting on 4-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. DuBose added 14 points for HBU while Bonds had 13 and Hardt scored 12. Dalton, meanwhile, also reached a new career-best with eight points. DuBose narrowly missed out on his sixth double-double of the season with nine rebounds while Bonds continued his stellar defensive play in SLC play with four steals.
 
Roydell Brown led all players with a career-high 28 points and 12 rebounds while Harvey added 22 for the Cowboys. HBU finished 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field while McNeese shot at a 47.1 percent (24-of-51) clip. The Huskies won the rebounding battle, 36-32, and took advantage of 13 offensive boards with 16 second-chance points.
 
A trip west on I-10 to San Antonio is up next for the Huskies for a Wednesday, Jan. 30, game at Incarnate Word with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m.