HCU vs. McNEESE
Houston Christian University plays the second leg of its four-game homestand on Monday night as it hosts league-leading McNeese State University. The Huskies are on a two-game winning streak as the defending Southland Conference champions hit Sharp Gymnasium.
HCU is 6-10 overall and 3-2 in the Southland Conference after holding off a late surge from rival University of the Incarnate Word to capture an 81-76 victory on Saturday afternoon. Playing in the friendly confines for the first time in over a month, the Huskies limited the Cardinals to just two points over the final 3:46 and finished the game with an 8-2 run that handed them consecutive wins for the first time this season.
The two teams battled back and forth to the tune of 24 lead changes on the afternoon. HCU got out to a five-point edge at the intermission 41-36, courtesy of a 16-4 run late in the frame. In the second half the two teams found themselves tied at 50 with just over 13 minutes to play. That's when
Bryson Dawkins and
D'Aundre Samuels combined to score the next 19 HCU points to give the Huskies a 69-62 lead with 7:25 remaining. Up eight with five to go, HCU saw UIW go on a 9-0 run to retake the lead before
Elijah Brooks decisive drive and off-balance finish put the Huskies up for good, 77-76 with 1:40 to go.
The Huskies put a quartet of players in dobule-digits for just the third time this season led by Dawkins, who matched a career-best with four triples en route to 17 points.
Julian Mackey had 16 points and Brooks had his second straight solid all-around game with 15 points, seven boards and four assists. Samuels hit three treys and microwaved his way to 13 points in just 11 minutes of action
HCU is led by first-year head coach
Craig Doty, who was hired as the ninth head coach in school history last 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.
Julian Mackey continues to pace the Huskies in scoring, sitting at 15.4 points overall as well as 17.4 through five games of conference play. Mackey, who had a career-best 32 at ULM, has seven 20-point games on the campaign while eclipsing his career-high three times this season. He ranks fourth in the SLC in scoring and in free throw percentage, knocking down 79.5% from the charity stripe.
Bryson Dawkins averages 12.5 points and 4.3 rebounds on the year, numbers that escalate to 16.8 points and 7.3 boards in SLC action.
Elijah Brooks continues to check boxes, averaging 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per on the season.
Peyton Rogers leads the club in rebounding at 5.2 per night, a bump up to 7.6 per in conference play.
HCU and McNeese will meet for the 35th time, with the Cowboys holding a 24-10 all-time lead that stands at just 12-8 in Southland play. HCU won three in a row starting with the epic 149-144 four-overtime thriller in the regular-season finale of the 2021-22 before the Pokes swept the season series last year.
McNeese comes to Sharp at 11-5 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the league after defeating Nicholls 80-71 in Lake Charles on Saturday. The Cowboys are led by second-year head coach Will Wade and now sit in first place alone after Lamar fell at home to SFA on Saturday.
The Pokes are paced by three players in double-digits. Sincere Parker, a 6'3 junior transfer guard from St. Louis University, leads the team at 14.6 per game, sixth in the league, and ranks fourth in the conference in field goal percentage at 49% per night. Seniors Javohn Garcia (13.9) and Christian Shumate (10.2 pts / 5.9 rbs) round out the trio. 6'9 forward Joe Charles, a senior transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette, leads McNeese at 6.4 rebounds per game, while 6'6 guard Quadir Copeland, a transfer from Syracuse, dishes out a team-best 3.9 assists, fifth in the league
HCU is 12-10 all-time on January 13. The Huskies most recent outing on this date was last season, a 69-65 victory at then Texas A&M-Commerce.
The Huskies will finish off the homestand with games against UTRGV (January 18) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (January 20).
#DawgsUp
