SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – Facing the same opponent for the second straight game, the HCU men's basketball dropped a high-scoring 100-90 decision to UT Rio Grande Valley at the South Padre Island Convention Center on Sunday evening. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
The Huskies (3-9) got a three-pointer from
Maks Klanjscek on the team's opening possession but the Vaqueros (8-4) scored the game's next eight points.
Bonke Maring answered for HCU with the next five points to even things up at 8-8 just under four minutes in. The Huskies then went ice cold from the floor, going scoreless for a stretch of more than five and a half minutes while UTRGV pulled ahead 24-8 before
Jason Thompson made a layup at the 10:33 mark to make it 24-10.
A Sherman Brashear three on the next UTRGV possession gave the Vaqueros their biggest lead of the half, 27-10, before the Huskies started to work their way back. A stretch that included four points from Klanjscek and a bucket from
Sam Hofman got HCU back within 10, 32-22, with 6:37 left in the half. The Vaqueros kept their lead in double-digits until an 8-point run by the Huskies comprised of five
Brycen Long points and three from Maring brought it to 41-35 with 2:26 on the clock. UTRGV again led by 10 but the Huskies closed the final minute of the half with a small 5-1 run to trail 48-42 at the break.
Early in the second half, the Vaqueros used an 11-0 run to again lead by 17, 61-44. The Huskies pulled back to within 11 a couple of times and after a pair of
Pierce Bazil free throws made it a 69-57 game UTRGV went on another 11-point run to go up 80-57. The Huskies scored the game's last eight points, closing the score to the 100-90 final.
Klanjscek led HCU in scoring with 21 points, matching his season-high, on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor. He was 3-of-6 from behind the arc and added five rebounds and four assists. Long and Maring each ended the night with 16 points. Long had six assists and Maring pulled down six boards.
UTRGV was led by Justin Johnson, who led all players with 29 points, and Ahren Freeman with 23 points and nine rebounds. The Vaqueros shot 55 percent (33-of-69) from the field to HCU's 46.8 percent (29-of-62). The two teams combined to shoot 72 free throws and total 54 fouls with six players fouling out.
The Huskies travel to the Texas high plains for their final game before Christmas, taking on Texas Tech on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 1:00 p.m. in United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.
