HCU at Rice
HOUSTON, Texas --- Houston Christian University ends it's three-game road swing by traveling across town to take on rival Rice University in a Saturday afternoon matinee.
The Huskies are coming off a tough first two games of the stretch away from Sharp, dropping games at Oklahoma State last Friday and at TCU on Monday night.
In their most recent outing, the Huskies jumped out to a lead midway through the first half. But similar to a couple of days prior in Stillwater, the shots stopped falling and TCU was able to make a huge half-ending run to take control before the break.
HCU led 16-8 after a three-ball by
Tristan Moore and then again at 21-15. Down just 31-27 at the five-minute mark, the Huskies went cold, and TCU used a 20-2 run to put the game out of reach.
Jay Alvarez led the Huskies with a career-best 21 points on the evening. After tying his career-high in Friday's loss,
Chigozie Achara set a new personal best with the first double-figure game of his career, netting 10 points to go with six rebounds.
Michael Imariagbe had nine points off the bench, while
Bonke Maring had eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. He also had three assists for the third straight game, and had three steals for the second time this season. Leading scorer
Marcus Greene was held to just five points, but had a career-high seven dimes.
Alvarez has taken over the team scoring lead, averaging 16.5 points along with 3.8 rebounds per night.
Marcus Greene puts in 14.2 points per night, and chips in 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Imariagbe is the third double-digit scorer for the Huskies, scoring 11 per outing, while
Bonke Maring is averaging 8.8 points, a team-high 7.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals.
Rice is now 2-5 on the season after snapping a five-game losing streak with a 98-78 victory over Tennessee-Martin in Tudor Fieldhouse Thursday night. HCU and Rice have met 17 times overall. The Owls have won the last five after HCU had won three straight in the series.
The Owls are led by 6'1 senior guard Travis Evee, who averages 16.9 points and 2.3 assists. He is shooting at a 35% clip on just under six attempts per game. Mekhi Mason, a 6'5 wing, averages 13.1 points and four rebounds, while 6'11 senior post Max Fiedler is averaging 10.1 points and a career-best nine rebounds per game thus far.
A return home to Sharp Gym is on the horizon following the game with Rice, as the Huskies welcome Southwestern Adventist University next Wednesday evening at 7 pm.
#DawgsUp
