HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University couldn't get anything going offensively much of the night, falling 80-58 to a hot-shooting Southeastern Louisiana University in Sharp Gym on Monday.
HCU took an early 9-6 lead after two straight buckets by
Bonke Maring in the paint. A driving layup by
Marcus Greene moments later gave the Huskies a four-point cushion, 17-13 at the midway point of the first half. The Lions would come right back as back-to-back three-pointers by Nick Caldwell and Roger McFarlane reversed the four-point lead, giving the visitors a 21-17 lead with 9:06 to go in the first half.
The Lions would continue their push, and a pair of Brody Rowbury free-throws gave SLU its first double-digit lead of the night, 30-20, capping off a 17-3 run. HCU would cut the lead to five on two occasions, the first on a three out of the corner by
Porter Bazil and then later after a three-pointer by
Dominic Capriotti and a pair from the line by
Jay Alvarez. That momentum was quickly extinguished however, as Roscoe Eastmond hit a straightaway triple right before the horn to extend the margin back to eight, 37-29 at the break.
HCU tried to keep things close, and a layup by
Bonke Maring kept the lead at 10 with 15 minutes to play. But the remainder of the second frame wouldn't fare well, as SLU began to methodically pull away. Back-to-back scores from McFarlane pushed the lead to 16 at the under-12 media timeout, and another three from Caldwell pushed the lead to 21 with just under nine minutes left, allowing the Lions to cruise the rest of the way.
Southeastern shot 54.2% from the floor, just the third time this season HCU has allowed a team to shoot over 50%. The Lions were also the first team this year to shoot over 40% from the three-point line against the Huskies, going 7-16 for a cool 43.8% behind the arc. Conversely, the Huskies struggled on this evening, hitting just 39% from the floor, 25% from the arc and 61.9% from the charity stripe.
Bonke Maring led the way for HCU, scoring 14 points to go along with three assists.
Dominic Capriotti hit three triples and ended with 12 points while
Marcus Greene chipped in 11 points, four boards and three assists. Leading scorer
Jay Alvarez was held in check, scoring just six points with seven caroms.
The Lions placed a quartet of players in double-figures, with Nick Caldwell leading the charge, posting a game-high 26 poitns on 10-14 shooting from the floor along with four treys. Roger McFarlane had 20 points and seven rebounds, while the SLC's leading assist man Roscoe Eastmond dished out 12 helpers to go with 13 points. Brody Rowbury rounded out the group with a 13 and 12 double-double.
With the win SLU improves to 8-13 overall and 3-5 in the league, tying the Huskies in the standings.
HCU drops their second straight game to fall to 5-14 overall and 3-5 in conference play. The Huskies take to the road for their next two, as they head to the Boot for games at Nicholls and New Orleans.
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