HOUSTON ---- Houston Christian University ran out to a big first half advantage then weathered a second-half storm, holding on down the stretch to knock off Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi 76-72 at Sharp Gymnasium on Monday evening. The Huskies led by as many as 16 in the first half before withstanding a mighty surge, snapping the six-game winning streak of the Islanders while completing their own homestand with three wins in four tries.
A layup by Stephen Giwa and a three-ball from Jordan Roberts knotted things up at five for the Islanders early.
Julian Mackey then scored five straight of his own and
Elijah Brooks followed with four more to get the Huskies to a 14-9 lead at the 13:32 mark.
Moments later,
D'Aundre Samuels would push the lead to eight with a jumper before steals on two consecutive possessions by
Pierce Bazil led to a bucket for Bazil and another for Samuels, giving HCU it's first double-digit lead of the night, 23-10 midway through the first frame.
TAMUCC cut the lead to eight, 25-17 with a quick 7-2 burst finished off by a Damarion Dennis layup.
Trent Johnson's dunk off a feed from Samuels started a 10-2 run for the Huskies however, a spurt finished off by three-pointers from Mackey and Samuels that gave the hosts their largest lead of the evening at 16, 35-19 with 5:52 on the clock. The double-digit advantage would remain through the rest of the half, as the Huskies headed into the intermission ahead 45-32.
The Huskies would continue to maintain their lead as the Islanders dipped their deficit under 10 on a couple of occasions through the first seven minutes. A layup by Isaac Williams got the visitors to within nine, but Johnson answered with another three-pointer to reestablish a 12-point margin. Two free throws by Owen Dease got TAMUCC to within eight again, but
Bryson Dawkins retaliated with a jackhammer off a backdoor feed from
Demari Williams to give HCU a 50-40 edge nearing the first media of the second half.
The lead was still 11 after a pair of free throws by Brooks with 13:34 to go. A&M-Corpus Christi then got 11 straight points from Jordan Roberts off the pine, as his three triples and mid-range jumper cut the Islander deficit to four, 59-55. Gary Clark then got the visitors as close as they'd been since the opening minutes when his layup made the score 59-57 with 8:59 still showing, capping off a 13-4 run.
HCU dug in and held its ground.
Julian Mackey went for seven straight of his own with a pair of free throws, a three-ball and a short jumper that pushed the Huskies back up seven, 66-59. Those would be the last points for HCU for the nearly five minutes, but the Islanders couldn't take real advantage. TAMUCC managed to shave the lead to three on four different occasions in the final 1:25, only for the Huskies to step to the free throw line and connect. HCU knocked down 9-12 from the stripe down the stretch, including 6-8 from
Elijah Brooks, to seal the victory.
HCU never trailed on this night and the contest was tied just twice, with both instances coming in the opening moments at 2-2 and 5-5. HCU forced 18 turnovers through a season-high 16 steals that netted 21 points, offsetting TAMUCC's 37-31 edge on the glass.
The cold outside didn't affect all the shooting on the inside of Sharp Gym. The Huskies hit for 42% from the three-point line and 77% from the charity stripe, knocking down 20-26 on the evening. The Islanders shot 47% from the floor and 50% from the arc, but struggled at the free-throw line, hitting just 12-21 for 57%.
A quartet of Huskies finished in the double-digit scoring column, just the fourth time this year but second on the homestand.
Julian Mackey finished one point shy of his eighth 20-point night, leading all scorers with 19 points while grabbing three boards and blocking a career-best three shots.
Brooks had 16 points, half coming on an 8-12 effort at the free-throw line.
Trent Johnson registered the first double-digit game of his career with 13 points to go with four boards.
D'Aundre Samuels continued his recent offensive surge, getting a dozen points to go with four caroms. His three steals tied for game-high honors with
Demari Williams, who had his second straight solid game on both ends with nine points, five boards and the three steals.
A&M-Corpus Christi also put four in double-figures, led by the 14 from Roberts and his hot-hand off the bench. Isaac Williams had 13 points while Gary Clark added 11, seven boards and three assists. Stephen Giwa had 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Islanders, who fall to 13-7 overall and 6-2 in Southland play, two games back of league-leader McNeese.
The Huskies won their second straight game to finish a strong 3-1 homestand that pushes their overall mark on the campaign to 8-11. After entering the day in four-way logjam for fourth place in the league standings, the Huskies now find themselves as one of five teams tied for third at 5-3.
A lengthy four-game road swing now looms for the Huskies as they come upon the midway point of the conference slate. The two weeks away from Sharp Gym begins with a first stop in the Big Easy this Saturday as the Huskies face University of New Orleans. The Huskies do not return home until February 8 when they host the return game against the Privateers.
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