HCU at SMU
Houston Christian University travels to Dallas looking to lasso the SMU Mustangs on Tuesday night, with tip-off at Moody Coliseum scheduled for 7 pm. The contest is the middle leg of a three-game stretch after final exams that closes out a rigorous non-conference schedule for the Huskies.
On Saturday night in Sharp Gym, HCU raced to a 25-point lead at the half and cruised to a 107-72 victory over Champion Christian College. The Huskies, who had been off all week for end-of-semester exams, showed no rust, shooting 51% from the floor.
Jumping out to a quick 11-4 lead before the first media, the Huskies hit the gas pedal early and never let off.
Tristan Moore's three-point play started another run, one capped off by a
Porter Bazil to
Pierce Bazil connection for a dunk that gave HCU a 30-13 lead with eight to go in the first half. The lead would balloon to 25 at the break, and a three-ball from
Dominic Capriotti five minutes into the second half pushed the lead to 30.
Michael Imariagbe had a fantastic line to lead the charge, going 12-16 from the floor and grabbing 10 of his 21 boards on the offensive end. It was the first 20-20 game for HCU since December 13, 2004, when
Chris Miller posted a 36-23 night at Texas A&M-International.
Marcus Greene had 16 points while
Pierce Bazil added 13 and eight boards.
Chigozie Achara,
Dominic Capriotti and
Bonke Maring each had a dozen, which Achara and Capriotti each setting new personal-bests for points.
The Huskies are now averaging right at 73 points per game and out-rebounding opponents at a +3.1 margin on the season. That includes as +2.8 on the offensive backboards. HCU has had just two players start every game this season in Greene and Maring, but has six players averaging over seven points per game and three in double-digits, with a fourth, Maring, not far behind at 9.7 ppg.
Jay Alvarez leads the Huskies at 14.6 points, and also grabs 4.6 rebounds.
Marcus Greene is right behind at 14.4, while also leading the team with 3.2 assists per game in addition to 3.8 rebounds.
Fresh off three straight double-double outings,
Michael Imariagbe has upped his scoring and rebounding over the past two weeks, now sitting at 12.6 ppg and 8.6 rebounds, while also blocking 1.3 shots per game.
Maring has been a stat-sheet stuffer thus far, scoring a shade under ten points per game (9.7), while grabbing 8.6 rebounds, tied for the team lead with Imariagbe. He is second on the team in assists at 2.3, and his 1.9 steals per game leads the club. After a foul-plagued opener at now No. 18-ranked BYU in which he had just two rebounds, Maring has cleaned the backboards to the tune of right at 10 rebounds per game, posting double-digits in five of the eight games since.
SMU comes into the game at 7-4 overall after a big 68-57 road win over Florida State in Tallahassee on Saturday. The Mustangs are led by 6'5 guard Zhuric Phelps, who averages 15.5 points and 4.7 rebounds on the season. 6'4 guard Chuck Harris is the only other Mustang in double-digits, scoring at a 14.2 clip on 43% shooting from the three-point line. 6'8 forward Tyreek Smith, a transfer from both Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, averages 7.9 points and 6.1 rebounds.
HCU and SMU are meeting for the eighth time overall, with the Mustangs holding a 7-0 lead in the series. The two teams last met during the topsy-turvy COVID season of 2020-21, when SMU posted a 102-75 win in Moody on December 2.
After the contest with SMU, the Huskies will close out the non-conference schedule with a Friday night game in College Station against Texas A&M. HCU will take off for Christmas break following the meeting with the Aggies, not returning to action until January 6, when Southland Conference play begins against Nicholls in Sharp Gym.
#DawgsUp
