HCU at CREIGHTON
OMAHA, Nebraska --- Houston Christian University hits the road for the second of two straight games against ranked opponents, taking on No. 14 ranked Creighton University on Wednesday night. It will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2011 with tip-off at the CHI Health Center scheduled for 8 pm.
HCU enters the game with the Bluejays at 1-1 on the young season. The Huskies won their season opener over Avila last Monday to give new head coach
Craig Doty a win in his HCU debut, before dropping a 90-59 decision at then No. 19 Texas on Friday night in Austin. Doty became the ninth head coach as the program enters its 59th season when he was hired in March. He enters his 13th season as a head coach with experience on the NJCAA, NAIA and NCAA Division 2 levels, including three national championships.
On Friday in Austin, the Huskies hung with the Longhorns for the better part of the first half, trailing by just three with two minutes to go before heading to the lockeroom down 42-35. UT then used two big runs early in the second half to break the game open.
Julian Mackey paced the Huskies with a career-high 20 points in his first career starting nod, while
Bryson Dawkins scored 13, including the first nine of the game for HCU.
That pair leads the Huskies at 15.5 points per game each two games in. The Huskies have
Pierce Bazil at six points a game, followed by a quartet of players at 5.5 points and two more at 4.5.
Peyton Rogers leads the Huskies at 5.0 rebounds per game, with
Elijah Brooks averaging 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. The Huskies have taken 30+ threes in back-to-back games to start the season, marking the first time HCU has taken 30 triples in a game since February 4, 2023. They are just the 12th and 13th such games in the past 10 seasons.
Pierce and
Porter Bazil will get starting nods on Wednesday night in the first return to their home state as collegians, joining
Demari Williams,
D'Aundre Samuels and Brooks in the first five on the floor for HCU. The Bazil's hail from 55 miles southwest of Omaha in the state capital of Lincoln, and along with
Marques Gates and
Nathan Self, are the only holdovers from last season on the 15-man roster. Those four are joined by 11 newcomers, a number that includes eight with prior NCAA Division I experience.
Not since the first season of transition back to NCAA Division 1 in 2007-08 have the Huskies had a larger incoming group of newcomers. That roster had just three returners (Montrel Allen, Kevin Amend and Andy Dillon), and featured 12 new players. The 15-man roster for HCU boasts players from nine different states as well as Canada, with Texas being the most represented with five players: Gates, Self,
Demari Williams,
Mason McBride and Valentine Katt.
The game with Creighton is the second in a row and of three games this season against currently ranked teams. A short sojourn up the road to College Station just before the Christmas break sees Friday matinee with Texas A&M, currently ranked No. 23 in the land.
The two squads have met thrice previously, all within the Huskies first five years of returning to Division 1. HCU is 0-3 all-time in the series with the last meeting coming in 2011 when the then 24th-ranked Bluejays took a 97-62 victory in Omaha. HCU is 5-4 in games played on November 13, the last such outing coming in a loss to #11 Texas Tech in Midland in 2019.
Creighton is currently 2-0 on the season with wins over Southland foe UTRGV and Fairleigh Dickinson. The Jays average 97.5 points per game with three players in double-figures, led by 7'1 senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is averaging 36.5 points and 8.5 rebounds through two games. Senior point guard Steven Ashworth averages 20 points, six rebounds and eight assists to guide the attack for Head Coach Greg McDermott, now in his 15th season in Omaha.
Wednesday night's game can be seen nationally on FS1 and also streamed at foxsports.com. The Huskies will return home this Saturday for a 3:30 matinee against Rockford University to open a four-game stay in Sharp Gym.
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