HCU vs. NORTHWESTERN STATE
Houston Christian University returns to the hardwood for the middle contest of a three-game homestand, hosting rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday night in Sharp Gym.
HCU was thwarted 86-73 by Northwestern State on Saturday to kick off the final trio of games at home this season. The Huskies found themselves in a double-digit hole midway through the first half and never fully recovered.
The Huskies cut the first half deficit to three on a couple of occasions but just couldn't put enough together to get back in it.
Marcus Greene's step-back three-ball at the close of the first half pulled HCU to within 14 at the break, but the Demons kept up the pressure and pushed the lead up to 20 with 13:14 to play. NSU ended the game shooting 50% from the arc and got 49 points from its bench in sweeping the season series from the Huskies.
Greene led HCU with 19 points while
Jay Alvarez and
Dominic Capriotti added 14 and 13 respectively.
Bonke Maring chipped in eight points, seven caroms, four assists and three steals for the Huskies, now 6-19 overall and 4-10 in the Southland.
Jay Alvarez continues to lead the Huskies in scoring, hitting at 15.5 points per night while also pulling down 4.6 rebounds. Greene is a point behind at 14.5 points, and averaged 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Michael Imariagbe is averaging 11.7 points per game on 53.9% shooting on the season. He has grabbed 209 rebounds for a 8.4 average, good for third in the SLC.
Bonke Maring is the lone HCU player to start every game this season. He is averaging 9.6 points, seven rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals on the season. He needs 24 rebounds to reach 200 for the season, which would give the Huskies their first pair of 200-rebound players since 2016-17 when Reveal Chukwujekwu and Joshua Ibarra accomplished the feat.
Dominic Capriotti is averaging 7.7 points per game and shooting 41.6% from the three-point line on the season. He is averaging just a shade under 10 points and shooting 43.8% from distance in conference action, which closely coincides with his insertion into the starting lineup.
This will be the second meeting of the season between HCU and A&M-Corpus Christi, as the Islanders claimed an 81-59 victory down the coast on January 8. The win pushed TAMUCC's lead in the all-time series to 22-9.
Now 17-10 overall on the season, TAMUCC is currently in a dogfight for second place in the Southland with Nicholls, Lamar and Southeastern. The two top teams in the final standings receive a double-by in the SLC Tournament in Lake Charles. The Islanders are currently tied with Nicholls at 10-4 in league play, with Lamar one game back after it's loss at home to Corpus on Saturday afternoon.
The Islanders are paced by Garry Clark, a 6'8 forward who is averaging 12.3 ppg and 8.2 rebounds per contest. Dian Wright-Forde is averaging 10.5 points as the only other player in double-figures. TAMUCC does have three players at 8+ points per night in Jordan Roberts, Dayne Prim and Lance-Amir Paul.
The Huskies will complete the home portion of the 2024 scheduled on Saturday when Texas A&M-Commerce comes to town for "Senior Day". HCU wraps up the regular season on the road at McNeese and Lamar next week.
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