HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University won its season opener and the debut of
Craig Doty as it cruised past visiting Avila 86-59 on Monday night in Sharp Gymnasium. The Huskies overcame a sluggish start midway through the first half, flying past the Eagles with a 24-8 run just before intermission to make a winner of Doty in his first game as the ninth head coach in school history.
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Trent Johnson opened the season's account with a three-ball ten seconds into the contest, and a driving layup by
Bryson Dawkins just before the first media gave the Huskies an 8-2 lead. Â The Huskies would lead 11-6 with 11:31 to play after a layup by
Julian Mackey on the break before the Eagles cut into the deficit. A layup from Josh Kilpatrick in the paint cut the lead to just one, 13-12 with nine to go in the opening stanza.
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The Huskies would then begin to find a rhythm and slowly began to pull away.
Ivan Reynolds got things going with a driving layup, and Johnson canned another triple.
Julian Mackey then hit two free throws and an and-one, pushing the lead to double-digits for the first time, 25-15 with 4:40 to play.
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Avila got the lead back under 10 once more with 2:14 to play, 27-18, but the Huskies would finish things off with a 10-2 spurt down the stretch. Consecutive triples from Mackey and
Pierce Bazil, with the second coming just two seconds from the first-half buzzer pushed the lead to 37-20 at the break, capping a 22-8 run over the final nine minutes.
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The lead would open up quickly into the second frame as a layup from
Demari Williams gave HCU its first 20-point advantage 45-25 at the 17:04 mark.
Bryson Dawkins then scored eight points over the next two minutes, including two threes, to push the lead to 25.
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Another three-ball from
Pierce Bazil kept the lead at 25, 59-34 with 13:11 to go before back-to-back dunks by
Demari Williams. Williams would get a jam off an inbounds play, then got a steal and score 18 seconds later to give the Huskies a comfortable 29-point lead. The advantage would grow to as many as 35 with 3:52 to play on a
D'Aundre Samuels jumper before a late run by Avila cut the final margin to 27.
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The Huskies shook off the slow start and finished the night shooting 44% while holding the Eagles to just 39.3% from the floor and 26.7% from the arc. Â HCU cleaned the backboards to a +12 clip and got 40 points from its bench brigade.
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Four players dented double-digits with two more at eight in a balanced attack for HCU. Dawkins led all scorers with a career-high 18 points, while
Demari Williams and
Julian Mackey had 11 apiece.
Pierce Bazil finished with 10 points while
D'Aundre Samuels and
Trent Johnson each had eight.
Peyton Rogers had eight rebounds off the bench to lead all players, while
Elijah Brooks had seven boards and a team-high and career-best five assists.
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Avila was led by Jehoida Goins 12 points and five rebounds. Brionne Williams was the only other Eagle to hit double-figures with 10 along with six rebounds. Josh Kilpatrick led AU with seven boards and George Williams had five assists.
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Houston Christian University hands
Craig Doty his first win in his Sharp Gym debut. Doty became the first new head coach for HCU in 33 seasons and the ninth in school history following Ron Cottrell, who spent 33 years on the sidelines for the Huskies. It was the first season opener at home since facing Trinity to begin the 2007-08 season and the first season-opening victory since a 72-68 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the first game of the Rainbow Classic in the 2012-13 season.
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Now 1-0 on the season, HCU hits the road for back-to-back contests against nationally-ranked teams. The Huskies take on No. 19 University of Texas in Austin on Friday night before traveling to No. 15 Creighton next Wednesday. A return to Sharp Gym comes on November 16, as the Huskies host Rockford University to begin a four-game homestand.
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