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KATY, Texas – HBU shot over 50 percent from the floor and won both the rebounding and turnover battle but were undone by a Southeastern team that shot well above their season average from three and downed the Huskies, 90-81, on day one of the Southland Conference Tip-Off Event at the Merrell Center.
 
Over the first five and a half minutes of the game, Southeastern (5-9) would take a lead only for the Huskies (4-7) to come back and even the score with the two teams knotted at 11-11 at the 14:35 mark. SLU would again get out to a lead with HBU pulling within one, 22-21, after a Sam Hofman layup. The Lions scored the next six points before back-to-back buckets from Jade Tse and Hofman made it a 27-25 game with 6:02 left in the half. Southeastern answered with a trio of three-pointers in a row to go up 11 and ultimately take a 45-30 lead into the half.
 
In the second half, the Lions maintained a double-digit lead and were up 79-59 with 7:29 to go. The Huskies scored the next nine points, keyed by seven from Khristion Courseault, to cut their deficit to 11, 79-68, with 5:21 on the clock. A few minutes later, Zach Iyeyemi made one of two free throws and an HBU offensive rebound on the missed second attempt landed in the hands of Courseault who drained a three to pulled HBU back within eight, 85-77, with a little over two minutes left.
 
After a defensive stop, Jason Thompson made a driving layup to get it back to six, 85-79. The Lions scored on their next two possessions, including following a turnover, to put the game out of reach.
 
Hofman led the Huskies with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and connected on 4-of-8 from three while adding four rebounds. Courseault also set a new career-best, hitting on 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from deep for 17 points off the bench. Tse finished 6-of-8 shooting and had 13 points while Iyeyemi posted nine points and six rebounds.
 
The Huskies shot 52.3 percent (34-of-65) from the field and 31 percent (9-of-29) from three. Southeastern, meanwhile, connected on 64 percent (16-of-25) from three and 60.4 percent (32-of-53) from the floor. The Lions came into the game making just 32.8 percent of their three-point attempts. SLU also finished 10-of-16 from the foul line compared to HBU's 4-of-7. The Huskies scored 44 of their points in the paint while SLU had 30.
 
HBU held a 30-27 advantage on the boards and won the turnover battle, forcing 14 SLU miscues while committing 13.
 
The Huskies will play the loser of the New Orleans vs. McNeese matchup on Friday, Jan. 7, at 11:00 a.m. at the Merrell Center.