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NATCHITOCHES, La. – After a rough start the HBU men's basketball team took the lead in the second half but the hot hand of Northwestern State freshman Carvell Teasett was the difference late as the Huskies dropped an 86-80 decision after more than a week off on Monday evening.
 
After going eight days between games, the Huskies (4-14, 3-7 SLC) missed their first 10 field goal attempts of the game, falling into a 13-3 hole more than seven minutes in. A Myles Pierre jumper at the 12:17 mark was the team's first made shot from the floor after three made free throws prior. The Demons (8-14, 7-4 SLC) maintained a lead throughout the first half but a Zach Iyeyemi made a layup with just under eight minutes left in the half to pull the Huskies within five.
 
NSU enjoyed an 8-2 burst to lead by 11, 28-17, but an and-one from Pedro Castro followed by a Jade Tse jumper got HBU back to within four with just 1:22 left on the clock. After trading baskets, the Demons' Trenton Massner hit an off-balance three from the corner just before the buzzer to make it 36-28 at the intermission.
 
Northwestern State's lead got as high as 13 with a Massner three bringing the score to 44-31 less than two minutes into the second half. The HBU offense found a spark following that Massner three with the Huskies making 7-of-8 from the floor over the next five minutes of the game with Brycen Long connecting on 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and Castro's jumper at the 13:17 mark making it a 52-49 ballgame.
 
After a Larry Owens bucket put the Demons ahead by four, 56-52, Za-Ontay Boothman and Philip McKenzie accounted for an 8-1 HBU run that put the Huskies ahead 60-57 with 8:38 to go. After HBU led 62-59, NSU's Teasett got hot and put the Demons ahead for good. Over the course of the Demons' next six possessions, Teasett went 5-of-5 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the foul line in a less than three minute span of time for a 75-68 lead at the 3:17 mark.
 
The Demon lead grew to 12 with just 1:16 on the clock before HBU managed to get it back to within five with 17 second left but it was too late as NSU made one of two free throws a few seconds later and kept things out of reach.
 
The Huskies finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from the floor and 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from three after missing all 11 attempts from long-range in the first half. Castro recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds while also adding two blocked shots, two steals and two assists.
 
Tse ended the night with a career-high 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting and was 6-of-6 from the foul line. Long knocked down 4-of-8 from behind the arc and finished with 14 points while adding four rebounds. Boothman set a new career-best with six rebounds and added seven points off the bench while Iyeyemi was nearly perfect from the floor, making 4-of-5, and finishing with 10 points.
 
The two teams were even on the boards with each side pulling down 38 rebounds while HBU held a slim 13-14 advantage in turnovers. Teasett finished with 25 points for the Demons and connected on 7-of-9 from three.
 
The Huskies remain in Louisiana for their next game, a Wednesday, Feb. 24, matchup in Thibodaux, La. against the Nicholls Colonels at 8:00 p.m.