HCU at Incarnate Word
Houston Christian University hits the road riding a two-game winning streak when it heads down I-10 to face rival University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday afternoon. The 5 pm tip-off at the McDermott Center is the back-end of a doubleheader with the women.
Two consecutive victories in exhilarating fashion have leveled the HCU conference ledger at 3-3 on the season. A 78-77 win over Lamar last Saturday was followed up by a defeat of New Orleans 88-80 on Monday evening. Both came in front of boisterous Sharp Gym crowds to bump the Huskies into fifth in the league standings.
HCU nipped Lamar in
The Darius Lee Memorial Classic when
Marcus Greene knocked down two three-pointers in the last 36 seconds, the final coming with 1.9 seconds remaining giving the Huskies the lead for good in a game that saw 20 lead changes.
Monday night found the Huskies down double-figures in the first-half and trailing by four at the break. UNO led the entire way in the first frame, but the second half would feature 11 lead changes. After turning things all the way around, HCU would see it's own double-figure lead evaporate before a finishing kick over the final four-plus minutes helped them pull away in the slugfest.
The Huskies came out firing to start the second half. A blocked shot by
Porter Bazil on one end led to a bucket from brother Pierce on the other, giving the Huskies a 10-point cushion with 12 minutes to play. The Privateers would come storming back behind two-time SLC Player of the Week Jordan Johnson. The senior guard put together two separate personal 10-point bursts, giving UNO the lead 72-71 with 4:32 to play.
Saturday hero
Marcus Greene then had some serious flashbacks, as he would knock down three consecutive three-pointers, the final coming from the same spot as the Lamar game-winner, giving HCU an 84-76 lead with 1:29 to go. Greene, who was saddled by foul trouble and played a season-low 19 minutes, would end up scoring 13 of his 18 points in the final 17-8 run by the Huskies.
Tying for team-leading honors was
Pierce Bazil. The sophomore from Lincoln, Nebraska, who has struggled to find his rythym for much of the campaign, had his best outing of the season. He knocked down 3-5 from long range to finish with 18 points to go along with two rebounds and two assists.
Michael Imariagbe posted his second straight double-double and seventh of the season, scoring 16 points and pulling down a game-best 10 boards.
Jay Alvarez had 14 and
Bonke Maring 12 to round out the double-digit scorers.
Alvarez continues to lead the Huskies, scoring 16.7 points overall, and his 19.2 ppg in conference play ranks second only to Jordan Johnson's 25.6 per.
Marcus Greene is 15
th in the league in scoring at 13.8 per game and is ninth in assists at 3.5 per in SLC play.
The duo of Maring and Imariagbe continue their strong play inside. The pair are combining for 21.2 points and 16.7 rebounds per night overall, with those numbers going up to 23 and 16.8 in SLC play. Maring adds two assists and two steals per game, while Imariagbe is getting 1.2 blocks per game on the season.
HCU, which played one of the tougher non-conference schedules, is now 5-12 overall. Five of the six conference games have been decided by eight points or less, with four of those determined by four points or less. The Huskies, 3-3 in the SLC, are tied with Northwestern State for fifth in the league table heading into this weekend's slate of games.
The trip to San Antonio sees the Huskies meet up with Incarnate Word for the 39
th time overall, with the Cardinals leading the all-time series 24-14. Since the two schools began play in the Southland, the Huskies have a 13-9 edge in the series, including victories in 12 of the last 16 matchups. The two teams split last year's pair of games, with each team victorious on the other's home court.
UIW has a quartet of players in double-digits, led by 6'6 junior guard Sky Wicks, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding (14.4 ppg / 6.3 rpg). Josiah Hammons goes for 13.5 points, while 6'9 grad forward Shon Robinson averages 11.5 points and is second on the team with 5.9 caroms. Alex Anderson rounds out the group at 10.6 ppg.
The Huskies will return home on Monday night to face Southeastern Louisiana. Tip-off at Sharp Gym is set for 7 pm.
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