COMMERCE, Texas – HCU led a good portion of the way but the Huskies ultimately fell, 77-76, to Texas A&M-Commerce in a wild finish at the Field House that saw 12 lead changes and eight tied scores in the second half.
It was a slow start for the Huskies (7-15, 4-5 SLC) as Texas A&M-Commerce (10-13, 6-3 SLC) got out to a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes. HCU got on the board about three minutes into the game with a
Bonke Maring layup that started a nine-point burst that was part of a greater 17-1 run that spanned an eight-minute stretch without a Lions field goal. A few possessions later,
Maks Klanjscek knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the HCU lead to 13, 21-8, with a little under nine minutes left in the half.
The Lions fought back over the next few minutes, pulling to within three, 25-22, following a 14-4 run that came during a more than six-minute stretch where the Huskies failed to score a field goal. The HCU offense got jumpstarted again by another Maring layup scored off a nice entry pass from
Andrew King, which led the Huskies to a 14-4 finish to the half, including scoring the final eight points of the half. The Huskies led 39-26 at halftime.
HCU pushed its lead to 14, 42-28, for its largest lead of the game but it was from that point that Texas A&M-Commerce started to work its way back and tighten up the game. Over a 10-minute stretch, the Lions whittled the lead down to eventually tie the game at 53-53 and then lead, 55-53. After the Huskies tied the game at 55-55, the Lions got a three-pointer from C.J. Roberts but Maring converted an and-one opportunity followed by a Long three to put the Huskies up 61-58.
Khaliq Abdul-Mateen answered with a triple of his own for the Lions but HCU again had an answer. Maring made one of two from the foul line and Klanjscek drained a three for a 65-61 advantage with 4:55 left. Over the final 4:55, the game went back and forth with neither team leading by more than two.
Four tied scores and 11 lead changes in that final 4:55 included a wild final minute. With HCU leading by one, 71-70, J.J. Romer Rosario hit a three to put the Lions ahead by two but Long knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the game on the ensuing possession to make it a 74-73 game with 43 seconds to play. Kalen Williams made a layup with just 15 seconds left on the clock, giving the Huskies the ball with the shot clock off. Klanjscek was fouled going to the basket off a baseline inbound pass with 4.5 seconds left and hit both free throws to again put HCU ahead by one. Roberts then took the inbound pass and streaked up the floor to make a contested layup just ahead of the buzzer to end the game with TAMUC on the winning end, 77-76.
Long led all players with 24 points, shooting 7-of-17 from the floor and 6-of-11 from three. He was also a perfect 4-of-4 from the foul line. Maring finished the game shooting 7-of-10 from the field and pulled down eight rebounds. Klanjscek added 14 points and eight rebounds while
Sam Hofman led the team with 10 rebounds and King dished out eight assists.
HCU out-rebounded the Lions, 41-28, but had 10 turnovers to TAMUC's six. The Lions turned the ball over just once in the second half. The Huskies finished the game shooting 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the floor and 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from behind the arc. They also shot well from the foul line, connecting on 22-of-29 (75.9 percent).
Next up for the Huskies is a rematch with the Northwestern State Demons, who they faced this past Thursday, on Thursday, Feb. 2, at home in Sharp Gym at 7:00 p.m.
