UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (5-4) at HCU Huskies (3-7)
Saturday, Dec. 10 – 7 p.m.
Sharp Gymnasium - Houston, Texas
TV (ESPN+/Garrett Jones & Van Chancellor)
Live Stats
Game Notes
HOUSTON – HCU men's basketball closes out a four-game home stretch and plays its final non-conference home game on Saturday evening when the Huskies face UT Rio Grande Valley at 7:00 p.m. in Sharp Gym. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
The Huskies (3-7) and Vaqueros (5-4) were conference mates in the Great West Conference from 2009-2013 and last played during the 2012-13 season. HCU won the last meeting between the two programs, on Feb. 16, 2013, with UTRGV playing as UT-Pan American at the time. The Huskies are 11-14 all-time against the UTRGV program.
HCU matched the lowest point total by an opponent in the team's last game, defeating Maine at Fort Kent 100-33 on Tuesday, Dec. 6. The Huskies held the visiting Bengals to just 19.7 percent (12-of-61) shooting from the floor while making 54.8 percent (40-of-73) of their field goals.
True freshmen point guards
Pierce Bazil and
Andrew King are averaging 27.5 and 19.5 minutes per game, respectively, to this point in the season. Combined, they are dishing out 6.9 assists per game for the second-highest combined total among true freshmen in the country. The VMI duo of Tony Felder and Rickey Bradley are first, combining to average 7.2 apg.
UTRGV is 0-4 on the road this season with a perfect 5-0 mark at home. The Vaqueros have already played two other teams in home-and-home series this season, splitting with both Western Illinois and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Senior Justin Johnson leads the Vaqueros with 19 points per game while sophomore Will Johnston is adding 14 ppg. Johnston leads the team with 30 assists and is shooting a blistering 51.5 percent (17-of-33) from behind the arc while Johnson is 8-of-16 from distance.
The Huskies will have more than a week off with final exams beginning on Tuesday, Dec. 13. HCU's next game will be a return game against UTRGV in South Padre Island, Texas at the South Padre Island Convention Center on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 6:00 p.m.
