McNeese Cowboys (8-20, 5-10 SLC) at HCU Huskies (9-19, 6-9 SLC)
Thursday, Feb. 23 – 7 p.m.
Sharp Gym - Houston, Texas
TV (ESPN+ - Garrett Jones/Van Chancellor)
Live Stats
Game Notes
HOUSTON – With three games left in the regular season, including Thursday evening vs. McNeese in Sharp Gym, the HCU men's basketball team stands alone in sixth place in the Southland Conference standings but just a single game ahead of the four teams trailing in the standings, including the visiting Cowboys.
The Huskies (9-19, 6-9 SLC) finish out the last three games with two at home as they aim to secure a spot in the 2023 Southland Conference Tournament. UIW, Lamar, New Orleans and McNeese (8-20, 5-10 SLC) are all just one game behind HCU in the league standings at 5-10 while Texas A&M-Commerce is in fifth with a an 8-7 record. A win on Thursday would give the Huskies a two-game lead on the Cowboys with two games to go and the head-to-head tiebreaker. The top eight teams in the conference standings make the conference tournament.
Maks Klanjscek continued his torrid stretch on Saturday in the Huskies' 93-74 win over Lamar, finishing with a career-high 33 points. He is now averaging 27.2 points per game over the last five games.
Brycen Long added 22 points for the Huskies, adding a career-best seven rebounds and five assists. Long now stands at 84 made three-pointers for the season, leaving him just seven made threes shy of tying the program record for most threes in a single season.
The last time the Huskies and Cowboys played, Long scored a career-high 32 points and teamed with
Bonke Maring to combine for 58 points. Long knocked down seven three-pointers while Maring finished 11-of-15 from the floor. HCU shot 56 percent (28-of-50) from the floor and hit 24-of-27 (88.9 percent) from the foul line.
McNeese has won three of the last four after enduring a nine-game losing streak. Most recently, the Cowboys fell at home to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by a 77-54 final score. Sophomore Christian Shumate leads the Cowboys with 13.1 ppg and 9.1 rebounds per game, shooting 56.1 percent (151-of-269) from the field. Guard Zach Scott and Trae English are averaging 11.4 ppg and 10.8 ppg, respectively.
HCU heads to Thibodaux, La. for its final road game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 25, to face the Nicholls Colonels at 3:00 p.m.
