LUBBOCK, Texas – Junior
Brycen Long led the Huskies with 21 points as the HCU men's basketball team fell to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Wednesday afternoon, 111-67, at United Supermarkets Arena. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
The Red Raiders (9-2) opened the game by scoring on five of their first six possessions and raced out to a 12-3 lead. That lead grew as the half wore on, reaching 34-12 with 7:48 on the clock when HCU (3-10) went on a 9-0 run with five points from
Brycen Long to cut the TTU lead to 13, 34-21. Texas Tech answered and went back ahead by as many as 24 before a late three from Long sent the Huskies into the locker room at the half trailing 49-28.
The Huskies came out in the second half and held the hosts to just 1-of-5 shooting from the floor and used a seven-point burst to pull within 14, 55-41, at the first media timeout with 15:41 to play. A few minutes later, the Red Raiders used a 7-0 run of their own to again lead by 21 with the two teams trading scores over the ensuing four minutes. Texas Tech extended its lead from there and pulled away down the stretch.
Long led the Huskies with 21 points, connecting on 6-of-14 from the floor, 4-of-8 from three and 5-of-7 from the foul line. The junior also had four steals and a pair of assists.
Bonke Maring ended the day with 13 points and nine rebounds while matching his career-high with three blocked shots. In his first career start,
Chigozie Achara pulled down five rebounds and set a new career-best with three assists.
HCU shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the floor and 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from beyond the arc. The Red Raiders finished at 62.5 percent (40-of-64) overall and 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three. TTU held a 35-30 advantage on the boards and took advantage of 24 HCU turnovers, turning them into 35 points.
Southland Conference play tips off next Friday, Dec. 30, at 7:00 p.m. inside Sharp Gym against the New Orleans Privateers.
