THIBODAUX, Louisiana --- Houston Christian University got behind right out of the gates and dropped an 83-73 decision at Nicholls on Saturday in David Stopher Gymnasium. The Huskies chipped away throughout the game but could never get over the hump, hitting the midway point of the conference race with their third straight loss.
Nicholls started the game on an 12-4 run capped off drives to the bucket by Jamal West and Michael Gray which forced the Huskies into a timeout before the first media. The lead would quickly stretch to 10, 18-8 after another bucket by Gray.
The Huskies would slowly get back into it. A strong drive by
Jay Alvarez was followed by a three from
Marcus Greene. Moments later a pretty spin move to the bucket by
Bonke Maring cut the lead to six, 22-16 with 11:59 left in the half. Alvarez would score again a minute later, cutting the lead to four.
Another small burst by the hosts extended the margin to double-digits again, as a three-pointer from Byron Ireland made the count 31-20 with 8:24 on the clock. HCU wouldn't go away and baskets by
Nate Hudson and
Michael Imariagbe preceded a conventional three-point play from
Pierce Bazil, finishing a 9-1 burst to draw the Huskies to within three, 32-29, with 4:53 to play in the first frame.
The Colonels lead would move to seven just before the final media timeout of the half, then scored back-to-back out of that timeout. A bucket by Byron Ireland gave Nicholls its largest lead of the night of 14 at 46-32. A backdoor cut and finish at the rim by Alvarez on a dime from
Marcus Greene cut the lead back to 10 just before the half, ending a 14-7 frame-closing run by Nicholls.
Bonke Maring started the second half with an inside bucket and a minute later,
Marcus Greene knocked down a triple, cutting into Nicholls lead. A three-point play by Jamal West would push the Colonels lead back to 10, but Alvarez got a left-handed putback that was followed by five quick points from
Dominic Capriotti to carve the lead to just six.
Again Nicholls would stretch the lead to 10, and again the Huskies responded.
Marcus Greene's three-pointer cut the lead to seven, and a tough finish by Imariagbe in the lane got the deficit down to to three, 60-57 with 12:02 to go. The two teams would then score just two points apiece for the next two minutes before an Omar Kouressi dunk off a dump off pushed Nicholls lead back to seven with 9:21 to play.
Marcus Greene would nail a three-pointer from the top of the key, knocking the HCU deficit to just five with under eight minutes to go. The Huskies couldn't capitalize however, and three turnovers and a couple of missed free throws preceded a small burst by the Colonels, a run capped by a Quinn Strander layup that gave Nicholls a 73-65 lead at the final media. A pair of Ireland free throws on the return from the media pushed the lead back to 10.
Alvarez would score on a nifty lefty flip in the lane, but again it was Ireland scoring on a drive to the bucket to push the margin to 11. The Huskies would get no closer than eight the over the final three minutes as the Colonels cruised home from that point.
HCU was led by
Michael Imariagbe, who posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Jay Alvarez had 17 points and four assists, while
Marcus Greene had 13 points and five boards.
Dominic Capriotti finished with 12 for the Huskies, who shot just 41.4% from the floor on the evening.
The Colonels (11-10, 6-2) shot 55.9% overall from the field to offset a 17.6% showing on the arc. Byron Ireland led Nicholls with 23 points, followed by Jamal West with 16 and five boards. Diante Smith added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists and Michael Gray had 12.
HCU drops its third straight to fall to 5-15 overall and 3-6 in the Southland. The Huskies will complete the two-game trip with a stop in the Big Easy on Monday night when it faces the University of New Orleans. The first meeting between the two went to the Huskies as they defeated the Privateers 88-80 on Monday January 22 in Sharp Gym.
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