LAKE CHARLES, La. –
Brycen Long scored a career-high and moved from 11
th to seventh in program history in made threes and
Bonke Maring scored 26 as the HCU men's basketball team earned a 90-81 road Southland Conference win over McNeese at the Legacy Center on Saturday.
McNeese (5-13, 2-3 SLC) knocked down a pair of threes on its first two possessions to jump out to a quick 6-0 lead but the Huskies (6-13, 3-2 SLC) answered with nine-straight points in just over two minutes for a 9-6 advantage. A few minutes later, the Cowboys went on an 8-0 run of their own to lead 19-14 with their largest lead of the half coming at the 12:22 mark on a Roberts Berze three that brought the score to 22-16.
Two minutes later,
Brycen Long buried his third three-pointer of the game to even the score at 24-24. After again falling behind and trailing 30-26 with 7:35 left in the half, HCU went on a 13-2 run with threes from
Sam Hofman,
Pierce Bazil and another by Long for a 39-32 lead. A pair of
Maks Klanjscek free throws with just over a minute to go in the half again put the Huskies up seven, 41-34, but two buckets by Christian Shumate pulled the hosts back to within three, 41-38, at halftime.
Long opened the scoring in the second half with a driving layup for a five-point HCU lead but the Cowboys scored the next 11 to again lead by six, 49-43, less than three minutes into the period.
Bonke Maring took over at that point, scoring the game's next seven points and putting the Huskies back ahead, 50-49.
During the ensuing 10 minutes there were five more lead changes with the two teams going back and forth. McNeese's Donovan Oday hit two free throws with 4:41 on the clock to give the Cowboys a 70-69 lead but
Andrew King came right back with a pair of his own from the charity stripe on the next possession. Leading 71-70, HCU would maintain a lead over the final four-plus minutes. King hit a layup following a Klanjscek steal on the next possession and then, less than a minute later, Long drained another triple to lead 76-70. Over the final three minute, the Huskies kept the Cowboys down at least five until the end.
Long had a huge game, finishing with a career-high 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The junior connected on 7-of-16 from behind the arc, giving him 143 made three-pointers for his career and vaulting from 11
th in program history in made threes all the way seventh. Long also made 7-of-8 from the foul line, pulled down five rebounds and had a pair of assists. His seven made threes is his most this season since he made eight in the opener at Florida International.
Maring ended the day with 26 points, making 11-of-15 from the floor and adding five assists. The big man is now shooting 62.2 percent (120-of-193) for the season. Klanjscek finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists while King had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Over the last two games, King has 11 assists with zero turnovers.
The Huskies shot 56 percent (28-of-50) from the floor and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three-point range, their second-straight game shooting at least 45 percent from behind the arc. HCU also made 24-of-27 (88.9 percent) from the foul line. HCU held a 31-30 advantage on the boards. McNeese shot 47.7 percent (31-of-65) overall and 40 percent (12-of-30) from three.
Zach Scott led McNeese with 17 points, hitting 5-of-11 from behind the arc, and Christian Shumate posted a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Cowboys ended the day with 10 turnovers to the Huskies' 13.
Dating back to last season, HCU and McNeese have played a total of 140 minutes across three games in which neither team has led by double-digits. The Cowboys won on a buzzer-beater in Lake Charles last season and the Huskies won in four overtimes at home last season.
The Huskies will be back on their home floor for the next two games, first hosting UIW on Thursday, Jan. 19, in Sharp Gym at 7:00 p.m.
