HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University stormed back with a script-flipping rally in the second half and pulled away from University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley down the stretch for a 66-57 victory on Saturday afternoon. HCU held the visiting Vaqueros to just seven points over the final 10 minutes of the contest to erase a 10-point deficit and move back over the .500 mark in league play.
The two teams would trade baskets for the better part of the first eight minutes. UTRGV's DK Thorn was fouled on a made three-pointer and converted the free throw to the Vaqueros an 8-5 lead early.
After a tip-in by
Demari Williams,
Bryson Dawkins scored seven straight points and
Trent Johnson's triple from the top of the key finished off the burst to give the Huskies a 17-11 advantage at the 11:08 mark.
UTRGV came right back and tip-ins by Tommy Gankuyag and Kwo Agwa pushed the visitors ahead 21-19 at the four-minute mark. A three-ball from
Peyton Rogers was followed by one from
Demari Williams, who then got an offensive put-back on his own miss to push HCU up six once again, 27-21 with 2:27 remaining. The Huskies would take a three-point edge, 27-24 into the intermission.
Out of the break, the Vaqueros made their move. DK Thorn had five points, and a three-pointer from Cliff Davis at the 15:50 mark gave him eight, as the pair combined for a 13-5 run to put UTRGV up five, 37-32. Moments later a drive to the bucket and finger-roll from
Elijah Brooks pulled the Huskies to within two, 40-38, but the Vaqueros then went on another spurt.
A three-point play from Thorn was followed by a three from Davis to push the lead to double-digits for the first time, 48-38 with 11:29 to play. A moment later, a short score from Agwa made it 50-40 with 9:51 showing on the Sharp Gym clock, finishing off a 26-13 spurt over the first 10 minutes of the second frame.
That is where things shifted monumentally.
Julian Mackey and
Trent Johnson knocked down consecutive three-pointers, and Mackey scored on a short jumper to pull the Huskies to within two. Two free throws by Mackey were then followed by an alley oop layup by Johnson on a feed from Dawkins to finish off a three-minute, 12-0 run that gave the Huskies the lead back, 52-50.
A fastbreak dunk by Agwa knotted things up for UTRGV, but that would be as close as the Vaqueros would get the rest of the way. Six points on back-to-back layups and two free throws by Dawkins preceded a mid-range from Mackey that extended the lead to eight with four to go.
Two minutes later, Mackey would effectively end things with a strong move to the bucket and high kiss off the window that handed HCU to its largest lead of the night at nine, 64-55 with 2:07 to play. That bucket completed a 19-point turnaround as the Huskies raced past the Vaqueros 26-7 over the final 10 minutes.
A strong night for the defenses saw the Huskies held the Vaqueros to just 38% shooting from the floor overall and 23% from the arc. That showing was highlighted by allowing just seven points over the last 9:51 as UTRGV went 2-9 from the floor and committed five turnovers, three in the final minute. Conversely HCU shot only 36% overall and 36% from distance, but went 15-16 for 94% from the charity stripe.
HCU placed three players in double-figures on the afternoon with
Bryson Dawkins leading the way with 15 to go with six boards.
Julian Mackey had 14 points and three steals while
Demari Williams established a new career-high with 14 points to go along with five boards, two assists and two steals.
Trent Johnson added eight points, four boards and two assists and
Peyton Rogers collected a team-high nine rebounds, four on the offensive end.
With the loss, UTRGV falls to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in the Southland. The Vaqueros were paced by DK Thorn with 15 points and Cliff Davis with 11 while Howie Fleming, Jr. had a game-high 10 caroms to go with his eight points.
HCU runs its record to 7-11 on the season and 4-3 in league play, and now sits in a four-team logjam in fourth place. The four-game homestand comes to its conclusion on Monday evening when the Huskies host second-place Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, who escaped the Alamo City with a 69-63 victory over UIW 69-63 on Saturday afternoon.
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