HCU vs. NORTH TEXAS
Houston Christian University looks to go into the Christmas break on a high note when it takes on University of North Texas on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies will be completing a rugged three games over six day stretch in a second straight matinee with tip-off at The Super Pit in Denton scheduled for 2 pm.
HCU is coming off a tough loss in College Station on Friday afternoon, a 77-45 defeat to No. 12-ranked Texas A&M. The Huskies stayed close for the first half, but Texas A&M used a quick burst out of the second-half gates that gave the Aggies a firm grip on the game, cruising to a 77-45 victory.
The Huskies trailed just 18-14 after a three-ball on the break by
Trent Johnson, but A&M would push the lead back out with a 10-1 run over the next four minutes. Back-to-back buckets from
Ivan Reynolds and
D'Aundre Samuels cut the lead to 12 at the break, but a 9-0 run after intermission gave the Aggies control. The Huskies struggled offensively, shooting just 31% on the afternoon, and A&M, the nation's leading offensive rebounding team, did just that. The Aggies used a 20-8 edge in own-end caroms as part of a larger 52-25 margin overall on the backboards, leading to 23 second chance points.
Samuels was the lone HCU player in double-figures, scoring 12 points, while
Peyton Rogers had eight rebounds for the Huskies in the losing effort
HCU is now 4-8 overall on the season with seven of its last eight games played being decided by seven points or less. The Huskies are one of four teams sitting at 1-1 in the Southland after the first weekend of league play on December 5 and 7, with only three teams remaining undefeated (Nicholls, Lamar and Northwestern State). Defending league champ McNeese has yet to play a conference game and all teams return to SLC action after the Christmas break.
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 continues to lead a trio of Huskies in double-digits on the season at 14.6 per game, tied for fifth in the Southland, and he is second on the team in assists at 1.8 per game. He is pulling down 2.9 rebounds on the season and ranks fifth in the league in free throw percentage at 83.6% on the season.
Bryson Dawkins is second on the club scoring at 120 points and is third on the club in rebounding at 3.7 per game.
Elijah Brooks rounds out the group, chipping in 10.2 points per and 4.1 rebounds per outing, second on the team just behind
Peyton Rogers at 4.8 caroms per.
Trent Johnson averages 5.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and leads the team at 1.4 steals per game.
North Texas enters Sunday afternoon's game at 8-3 overall and is in the midst of its own heavy run of games, albeit all at home in the Super Pit. The Mean Green will be playing their third game in five days on Sunday and are now 6-0 at home as they defeated Appalachian State 68-64 on Friday evening in Denton. UNT is led by second-year head coach Ross Hodge.
HCU and North Texas have met 10 times, with the Mean Green holding an 8-2 lead in the all-time series. The two teams last met during the Covid season of 2020, when UNT took an 85-55 victory in Denton.
The Mean Green are holding opponents to just 57.5 points per game through 11 games. 6'1 senior guard Atin Wright leads the offense, hitting 2.5 three-pointers a game for his team-high 13.1 points. Former McNeese guard Johnathan Massie averages 8.7 points and team-high 5.2 rebounds, while Floyd Jasper, a 6'3 senior guard, averages 8.3 points and a team-leading 4.0 assists per game
Eleven games have been played previously on December 22 with the Huskies holding a 2-9 mark on this date. The most recent time to play on the 22nd day of the 12th month was last year's 79-52 loss at Texas A&M in College Station.
Sunday's contest against North Texas closes the book on the 2024-25 non-conference slate. HCU returns to the hardwood on January 4, 2025 when it resumes Southland Conference action in Beaumont against Lamar University. A return to Sharp Gym comes on January 11 when a four-game homestand ensues against rival University of the Incarnate Word.
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