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HOUSTON – HBU trailed for more than 27 minutes of game time but locked down visiting UIW over the final 10 minutes, out-scoring the Cardinals 32-13 to close the game and earn an 82-68 Southland Conference win on Thursday night in Sharp Gym.
 
UIW (6-23, 2-10 SLC) scored the game's first five points with HBU (9-15, 5-6 SLC) getting back to within one on a couple of occasions before the Cardinals got out to a 19-11 advantage just under eight minutes into the game. That would prove to be UIW's largest lead of the night as the Huskies clawed back and Sam Hofman brought things even at 24-24 thanks to an and-one at the 7:48 mark. The Cardinals scored the next seven, however, to lead 31-24. HBU worked its way back once again with Darius Lee making a layup with 18 seconds left in the half to pull the Huskies back within one, 35-34, at the intermission.
 
In the second half, UIW's RJ Glasper scored quickly on the opening possession but the Huskies scored on their next two possessions with Khristion Courseault giving HBU its first lead with 17:33 on the clock in the second half, 38-37. UIW regained the lead over a minute later, pushing their advantage as high as six, 49-43, but back-to-back threes from Hofman and Brycen Long evened it up at 49-49.
 
A minute later, the Cardinals held a 55-50 lead after a floater from Glasper. Zach Iyeyemi made a layup with 10:17 to go, igniting the Huskies' run. Iyeyemi scored the next three points, as well, to even things up at 55-55. HBU went up by two before Brandon Swaby knocked down a three for one last Cardinal lead, 59-58, before the Huskies scored the next 13 points to lead 72-59 with just 3:17 left to play. The HBU lead reached 15 after a Courseault layup at the 1:45 mark and the Huskies knocked down their free throws the rest of the way to maintain a double-digit lead to the end.
 
Over the final 10:30 of the game, the Huskies forced six UIW turnovers and held UIW to just 3-of-12 shooting from the floor. HBU out-rebounded the Cardinals 21-9 in the second half and knocked down 50 percent (14-of-28) from the field.
 
Courseault led the Huskies with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, adding four rebounds. Lee added 18 points, shooting 9-of-15, to go along with six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Hofman scored 13 points off the bench, connecting on 5-of-7, and grabbed five rebounds. Iyeyemi was the fourth HBU player to finish in double-figures, adding 10. Long ended the night with nine points, three steals and three assists while Zion Tordoff led all players with nine rebounds.
 
The Huskies shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) for the game and 84 percent (21-of-25) from the foul line. HBU forced 16 turnovers with just 12 miscues and won the battle on the boards, 36-23. The Huskies got 26 points from their bench, compared to just five for the Cardinals.
 
UIW was led by Glasper and Josh Morgan who each scored 23. The Cardinals shot 40 percent (20-of-50) for the game and 46.5 percent (10-of-22) from behind the arc. They were also 18-of-20 (90 percent) from the charity stripe.
 
The Huskies host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Feb. 26, in Sharp Gym at 7:00 p.m. The two teams are currently tied for fourth place in the conference.