AUSTIN —- Houston Christian University dropped its first game of the season, falling 90-59 to No. 19 ranked University of Texas on Friday evening at the Moody Center. The Huskies trailed by just seven at the break, but the Horns started the second half with a huge run to take control and capture their first win of the campaign.
 
The Huskies and Horns would go back-and-forth for the first four minute, with Bryson Dawkins leading the charge for HCU. A steal and breakaway dunk was followed a possession later by a bucket off a backdoor layup. Seconds later, he would knock down two free throws and then a canned a three-ball from almost straight away that got the Huskies to within two, 11-9 at the first media timeout.
 
The Longhorns would answer out of the break, scoring nine of the next 11 points of the contest to push out to a seven-point lead. Porter Bazil would break the 9-2 burst with a three from the wing, keeping the Huskies close, 18-14 with 12:38 to play in the first half. UT would come right back with another burst, this one of 7-2 capped by a Jayson Kent three-ball. HCU answered again with a whirling dervish bucket by  Pierce Bazil followed by a three-ball from Dawkins just before the shot clock expired made it a four-point game, 25-21.
   
The Longhorns would lead by three just under the seven-minute mark, when Kadin Shedrick's offensive board and dunk pushed the lead to five and a moment later, Arthur Kaluma's drive and dunk go the lead back to seven. Julian Mackey had the answer, knocking down a deep three and a jumper, keeping the Huskies within four, 33-29 with 4:20 to go. Four straight points by the Longhorns would force an HCU timeout as the lead jumped back up to eight, 37-29 just 29 seconds later.
 
HCU would charge back once again out of the timeout, getting a triple from Trent Johnson and a spinning layup from Mackey to pull to within three with just over two minutes left. Dawkins would then get fouled on a drive with 35 seconds to play and made one of two to get HCU to within four but Tre Johnson then canned a three-pointer for the Horns with 20 seconds to go to give Texas a 42-35 lead at the break.
 
The Longhorns came out hot out of the intermission. Two straight HCU possessions ended with Kadin Shedrick blocked shots, and the hosts converted on each, with a triple from Johnson and a layup by Chendall Weaver giving Texas its first double-digit lead, 47-35, and forcing the Huskies into a timeout 57 seconds into the second stanza. Shedrick would then hit a pair of free throws and Arthur Kaluma then followed up his own miss with a bucket to push the lead to 16.
 
A driving layup by Elijah Brooks broke the opening run just ahead of the 16-minute media, but the Horns then went on another quick burst, this of 10-0 capped by a dunk by Shedrick, giving UT a 64-37 advantage. The Huskies kept fighting and back-to-back three-pointers by Julian Mackey and Porter Bazil were followed by a pair of charity shots by Mackey, cutting the lead to 21 with just under 10 minutes to play.
   
That would be as close as the Huskies would get the rest of the way, as Texas went on a 15-5 run to put the game out of reach. HCU ended the game shooting 35% on the evening, but went cold in the second half to the tune of just     from the floor. Texas had 40 points in the paint, while the Huskies got 31 points from its bench.
 
Julian Mackey led a pair of players in double-digits for the Huskies, scoring a career-high 20 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor and 3-6 from the arc. Bryson Dawkins had 13 points on the evening, while Mackey and Trent Johnson led the Huskies with four boards apiece.
 
Tre Johnson had his second straight big night to open the season for the Longhorns, scoring 28 points and hitting five three-pointers. He was one of five in double-digits for Texas, with Arthur Kaluma having the other big night with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
Now 1-1 overall on the season, HCU will stay on the road for a second straight match-up with a nationally-ranked opponent. The Huskies make the trek to Omaha, Nebraska next Wednesday to face off with No. 15 Creighton. That game tips off at 8 pm at the CHI Health Center Omaha and can be seen on FS1.
 
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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