HCU at New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS --- Houston Christian University faces University of New Orleans on Monday in the back end of a two-game swing through Louisiana. Tip-off at Lakefront Arena is scheduled for 6:30 pm as the second half of the conference slate commences.
The Huskies have lost three in a row, with the last victory coming on January 22 in Sharp Gym against the Privateers, 88-80. HCU comes into the contest on the heels of an 83-73 defeat on Saturday in Thibodaux to Nicholls that dipped the Huskies to 5-15 overall and 3-6 in Southland play.
An early 12-4 by the Colonels forced the Huskies to play catch-up the rest of the day. HCU cut the lead to four and three on separate occasions in the first frame before the hosts took a 10-point lead into the break.
Down 12 in the second half, the Huskies cut the deficit to three on a strong finish in traffic by
Michael Imariagbe with 12 minutes to play. Several minutes later, a
Marcus Greene three-pointer drew HCU to within four, but each run was met by the Colonels, and the Huskies got no closer than eight down the stretch.
Imariagbe posted his ninth double-double of the campaign with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Jay Alvarez added 17 points and four helpers, while Greene had 13 points and five rebounds.
Dominic Capriotti added 12 points, his fifth double-digit outing since moving into the starting lineup seven games ago.
HCU is led by
Jay Alvarez at 16.1 points per game.
Marcus Greene averages 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 dimes per outing, while Imariagbe is averaging 11.4 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds.
Bonke Maring rounds out the quartet of HCU double-figure scorers at 10.2 points while pulling down 7.5 rebounds and dishing out 2.1 assists per night.
Monday night marks the 23
rd all-time meeting with UNO, and the Privateers hold a 16-6 advantage in the series. New Orleans comes into the game on a six-game slide that has dropped the Privateers to 7-15 overall and 2-7 in league play.
HCU won the 88-80 thriller two Mondays ago by using a 17-8 finishing kick to overtake the Privateers in the final four-plus minutes.
Down 72-71 with 4:32 to go,
Marcus Greene hit three three-pointers in a personal flurry of 13 points in three minutes to give HCU the lead for good. The Huskies placed five players in double-digits, led by Greene and
Pierce Bazil, each with 18.
Imariagbe had 16 points and 10 boards,
Jay Alvarez scored 15 and
Bonke Maring had 12 points, six caroms and three helpers. The Huskies withstood a scoring barrage from UNO's Jordan Johnson, who had two separate 10-point runs in the second half, and gave the Privateers the 72-71 lead with 4:32 to go. He would finish with 35 points on 13-33 shooting from the field. Khaleb Wilson-Rouse was the only other UNO player in double-digits with 22.
Johnson, an All-SLC selection last year and already a two-time Southland Player of the Week this year, continues to pace UNO on offense. He is averaging right at 23 points per in league play along with four assists per. Wilson-Rouse is second on the club at 12.3 points in SLC action, while senior post Tyson Jackson is bringing in 11.4 points and 6.2 rebounds a night.
HCU hits the Monday night affair just one game behind both Southeastern and Northwestern State at the halfway point of league play. The Huskies are sitting one game ahead of New Orleans.
A return to Sharp Gym for a two-game homestand follows this trip to Louisiana. First up is the 10th annual "Hustlin' Husky" Throwback game with Incarnate Word on Saturday afternoon.The Huskies will don their 1974-75 retro jerseys and candy-stripe shorts looking to avenge a 79-75 loss to the Cardinals in San Antonio on January 27.
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