HCU vs. ULM
Houston Christian University returns to the hardwood for the first time since December 7, traveling to face the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Tuesday night. Tip-off at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe is set for 7:30 pm and marks the first of three games over the a six-day stretch for the Huskies to close out their non-conference schedule.
The Huskies have been off for 10 days, including Finals week, not playing since halving a pair of games in Sharp Gymnasium to open the Southland Conference slate. HCU defeated East Texas A&M 83-79 on Thursday, December 5 before falling to Northwestern State 64-57 on Saturday, December 7. The 1-1 mark to start SLC play is the ninth time in 12 seasons in the league that the Huskies have begun with at least a split.
In its most recent outing, HCU fell in a defensive slugfest to Northwestern State. The Huskies went ice-cold over the final four minutes of the contest and the visiting Demons used a 10-3 march over that span to pull away and sneak out of Sharp Gym with the conference victory. NSU never trailed in the game and built its lead to as large as nine in the first half before taking a seven-point lead to the break.
The Huskies would rally in the second session, pulling to within one five minutes in and then tying things up at 44 on a three-pointer from
Bryson Dawkins with 11:33 to play. A three-point play by
Julian Mackey tied things again at 54 with 3:55 to go, but that would be that, as NSU got two conventional three-point plays in the final minute to close things out.
Dawkins was the only HCU player in double-digits, scoring 13 to go along with five boards and two assists. Mackey and
D'Aundre Samuels each chipped in nine points, while
Elijah Brooks had seven points and five caroms. The Huskies shot just 42% overall and 24% from the arc.
HCU is now 3-7 overall on the season. After a 2-2 start, the Huskies have dropped five of their last six outings with each of those games decided by six points or less. The Huskies are one of four teams sitting at 1-1 in the league after the first weekend of league play, with only three teams remaining undefeated (Nicholls, Lamar and Northwestern State). Defending league champ McNeese has yet to play a conference game.
The Huskies are led by first-year head coach
Craig Doty, who was hired as the ninth head coach in school history back in March as the program is now in its 59th season. Doty brings 12 years of head coaching experience to the HCU sidelines, having coached on the NJCAA, NAIA and NCAA Division II levels while capturing three national titles along the way.
Mackey now leads a trio of Huskies in double-digits on the season at 13.6 per game, good for 12th in the Southland, and also leads the squad in assists at 1.9. He is pulling down 2.7 rebounds on the season and ranks fifth in the league in free throw percentage at 85.4% on the season. Dawkins has moved into second on the club in scoring at 12.4 points and is tied with
Elijah Brooks at a team-best 4.3 rebounds per outing. Brooks closes out the triple-digit scorers at 10.9 points and chips in 1.8 assists.
Tuesday night will be the first meeting on the court with ULM since the 1983-84 season, the same year the Huskies won the Trans America Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The two schools were charter members of the TAAC (now Atlantic Sun Conference) together in 1978, before the then Northeast Louisiana University Indians left to join the Southland in 1982.
HCU won that last meeting nearly 40 years ago, a 69-61 win in Monroe. This will be the 27th meeting all-time with the Warhawks holding an 18-8 lead, but the Huskies have won the last five.
ULM comes in at 4-8 overall, and have lost four of their last five following Saturday's 77-68 loss at UT-Arlington, the second loss in 12 days to the Mavericks. Keith Richard helms the Hawks, now in his 15th season at his alma mater. Monroe is paced by 6'4 junior guard Jalen Bolden who averages 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds along with 6'4 senior guard Tyreese Watson, who chips in 10.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and a team-best 4.1 assists.
In games played on December 17, the Huskies are 9-11 all-time. The most recent game played on this date was in 2020, when the Huskies fell at the University of North Texas 85-55.
The Huskies last won on this date during the 2005-06 season, when Corey Thomas scored 13 points, grabbed five boards, dished out seven assists and had four steals in a 100-83 victory at Texas A&M International. In 1998, the Huskies set a then-school record for most points scored during a 134-73 rout of Paul Quinn in which seven players dented double-figures and HCU scored 66 points in the first half and 68 in the second.
Tuesday night is the first of three straight away from Sharp over a six-day span, a stretch that finishes up the non-conference schedule prior to the Christmas break. The road travels continue on Friday with short trip up to College Station for a 1 pm matinee against 12th-ranked Texas A&M. HCU wraps up the 13-game non-conference slate on Sunday with another lunchtime tilt, this coming in Denton as HCU faces off with the North Texas Mean Green.
#DawgsUp
