PROVO, Utah --- Houston Christian University opened its 2023-24 campaign with a 110-63 loss to BYU on Monday night at the Marriott Center. The Huskies strurggled offensively and fell into an early first-half hole and could never recover in suffering the opening night loss.
Early buckets from
Bonke Maring and
Marcus Greene had the Huskies down by one just over three minutes into the game. The Huskies then went ice-cold, and BYU capitalized with a 14-2 run that was finished off by a corner three-ball from Jaxson Robinson, giving the Cougars a 21-8 lead with 11:54 to play in the first half.
The Huskies tough night shooting would continue after the second media timeout, and the hosts extended their lead. An offensive putback from Robinson was followed by a Spencer Johnson triple, giving the Cougars a 35-10 lead before
Pierce Bazil's steal and layup ended the long drought.
HCU would muster just 25% shooting in the first frame, including just 1-10 from the arc. Meanwhile, BYU hit 10-27 from deep, including 4-7 from Trevin Knell, to take a commanding 56-18 lead into the intermission.
In the early going of the second half, six straight points by
Marcus Greene helped get the Huskies untracked a bit offensively. HCU kept fighting, as
Michael Imariagbe had a strong finish in the lane and then seconds later hit a three-ball at the 11:02 mark. That spurt was followed by another jumper and triple from Greene.
HCU would hit at a blistering 59.4% clip from the floor and scored 45 points in the second half after struggling in the first. The Huskies turned the ball over 15 times to just nine for BYU and the Cougars held a overwhleming 59-25 edge on the glass.
Marcus Greene had 18 points on 8-15 shooting in his first outing as a Husky.
Jay Alvarez had 11 points and six rebounds, while
Michael Imariagbe chipped in 11 points as well.
Pierce Bazil had nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
Spencer Johnson led five players in double-digits for BYU (1-0) with 20 points and added seven assists and five rebounds. Trevin Knell had 19 and Noah Waterman collected 16 points and eight rebounds. BYU shot 48% on the evening, and went 15-43 from long range.
HCU falls to 0-1 on the season, and will have eight days off before hitting the hardwood again. The Huskies will return to action on November 15 when they host Florida International in the first half of a quick two-game homestand. It will be a rematch of last season's season opener in Miami where the Panthers won 77-66.
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