Houston Christian University dropped the back-end of the Louisiana swing, falling to University of New Orleans 84-58 at Lakefront Arena on Monday night. A late first half UNO run that continued into the beginning of the second half put the game out of reach, handing the Huskies their fourth straight loss.
 
UNO jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead, highlighted by a three-point play from Jordan Johnson and a reverse from Khaleb Wilson-Rouse. The Huskies answered back with a euro-step move from Jay Alvarez and three free throws by Michael Imariagbe to cut the lead to 11-7 at the first media timeout. A quick scamper through the paint by Alvarez cut the lead to a deuce, but Wilson-Rouse hit again from the corner. A run-out by Alvarez off a steal pulled HCU to within three once again and seconds later, a Michael Imariagbe drive to the rim cut the lead to a single digit, 14-13. A Carlos Hart layup was followed by Jordan Johnson putting together back-to-back buckets to highlight a quick UNO run that pushed the hosts up six. A pair of Marcus Greene charity shots pulled the Huskies back to a four-point disadvantage, 22-18 with 7:54 to go in the opening stanza. Right out of the break, Greene would get to the rim to cut the deficit to two, 22-20.
 
From there, the Privateers would gain a little separation. A breakaway dunk by Jamond Vincent started things, and a three from the top of the key from James Glisson III gave New Orleans a 29-22 lead that forced an HCU timeout with 4:17 to go before intermission. HCU would finally break a near three-minute drought with a free throw from Imariagbe with 2:45 to go.
 
Jordan Johnson would get a friendly roll on a drive and then hit a mid-range jumper to push the margin to 12, but Imariagbe followed with a three-ball from the top of the key. Johnson answered right back with another one from deep and a Mason Jones snowbird capped the 18-4 closing run that gave UNO its largest lead of the half, 40-26 at the break.
 
UNO picked up right where it left of coming out of the intermission, putting together a 10-4 spurt finished off by a Jamond Vincent dunk down the middle of the lane off a dime from Johnson. Marcus Greene would hit two straight three-pointers for the Huskies to cut the lead to 16. UNO would then go on what would become a game-deciding run. Another three from Khaleb Wilson-Rouse gave UNO a 61-36 advantage just before the 12-minute mark of the second half, putting the game out of reach.

The Huskies shot just 32.7% from the floor and 28.6% from the three-point line in the loss. Mike Imariagbe paced the Huskies with his 10^th double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 19 points along with 11 rebounds. Marcus Greene added 16 points for HCU.
 
UNO was led by Jordan Johnson's 24 points, five boards and four assists. Khaleb Wilson-Rouse went 4-8 from the arc and finished with 16 points, while Jamond Vincent had a well-balanced night with 14 points, eight caroms and five helpers. The Privateers shot 51.4% from the floor in pulling even with the Hsukies at 3-7 in the league while improving to 8-15 overall.
 
HCU is now 5-16 on the season and 3-7 in the Southland, with a return to Sharp Gym next up for the Huskies. On Saturday afternoon, HCU will get a rematch with Incarnate Word in the 10^th annual "Hustlin' Husky" Throwback Game, scheduled for a 3:30 tip as part of a double-header with the women. The Huskies will wear their retro running dog jerseys and candy stripe shorts in a homage to the 1974-75 team.
 
The homestand concludes on Monday night when league-leading McNeese comes to Fondren Road.
 
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