HCU Huskies (0-0) at Florida International Panthers (0-0)
Monday, Nov. 6 – 6 p.m. CT
Ocean Bank Convocation Center - Miami, Florida
Streaming
Audio (Husky Sports Network/Garrett Jones)
Live Stats
Game Notes
MIAMI, Fla. – The 58
th season of HCU basketball is set to commence on Monday evening when the 2022-23 Huskies men's basketball team opens the season against Florida International at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center at 6:00 p.m. CT. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
The Huskies, coming off an 11-18 season a year ago in which they finished fifth in the Southland Conference standings with a 6-8 league record, return six letterwinners with eight newcomers on the roster. They are, however, without last year's leading scorer and rebounder,
Darius Lee, who was posthumously named SLC Preseason Player of the Year after tragically losing his life to an errant gunshot in June while home in Harlem, N.Y. visiting his family. Lee led HCU in scoring (18.2 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg), assists (86) and steals (65) en route to second team all-conference and all-defensive honors.
Junior
Brycen Long is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 10.4 ppg as a sophomore. Long moved into the starting lineup in the seventh game of the season last year and was in the starting five for the final 23 games, shooting 37.8 percent (59-of-156) from three-point range. Senior
Sam Hofman, the team's other returning starter, connected on 42-of-108 (38.9 percent) as a junior last season and contributed 8.8 ppg and 5 rpg.
The Huskies' other returners include senior center
Zach Iyeyemi (5.2 ppg, 3 rpg), senior forward
Jason Thompson (2.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg), sophomore forward
Deshon Proctor (4.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and forward
Tristan Moore (4.9 ppg, 1.4 rpg). The HCU newcomers include Division I transfers Mak Klanjscek, a 6-5 senior guard from Maine who led the Black Bears with 9.7 ppg last season, and 6-10 senior post Bonke Maring, who hails from nearby Cypress and averaged 2.3 ppg and 1.2 rpg at UTEP last season.
HCU added a pair of junior college transfers in 6-6 forward Nate Hudson and 6-8 center Chigozie Achara while also bringing in a pair of 6-3 freshman guards, Pierce Bazil and Andrew King.
Florida International returns six letterwinners from a team that started last season red-hot, jumping out to an 8-1 start, before finishing with a 15-17 record. The Panthers were picked 10
th in the Conference USA preseason poll.
Sophomore guard Denver Jones is the team's top returning scorer after finishing second on last year's team with 12.5 ppg, knocking down 49-of-142 (34.5 percent) from three. FIU returns just one starter from last year, 7-1 center Seth Pinkney, who averaged 4 ppg and 4.2 rpg while shooting 63.3 percent (57-of-90) from the floor.
The Panthers added a trio of transfers to this year's roster in Nick Guadarrama, Austin Williams and John Williams. Guadarrama, a 6-5 forward, was a three-time all-America East selection at New Hampshire, averaged 12.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg last season. Austin Williams, a 6-4 transfer guard from Hartford, led the Hawks with 16.1 ppg last season and added 5.2 rpg. John Williams, meanwhile, finished second in NCAA Division II in scoring last year with 24.4 ppg at Glenville State.
The Huskies and Panthers were originally scheduled to play in Miami last season but the game was postponed due to covid-19 protocols and moved to this season. Monday will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Husky fans can listen to the Husky Sports Network audio broadcast with Garrett Jones providing play-by-play at HCUHuskies.com. The game will be streamed on CUSA TV at CUSA.tv.
Following Monday's season opener, HCU will travel to Austin, Texas for a matchup with the 12
th-ranked Texas Longhorns in the Moody Center on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 8:00 p.m.
