Follow @HCUHoops
HCU at STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Houston Christian University hikes up to the Piney Woods for a Monday night skirmish in Nacogdoches against Stephen F. Austin State University. The Huskies will be looking to rebound quickly from Saturday's heartbreaking loss at Lamar when it takes on the Lumberjacks for the first time since 2019. Tip-off at William R. Johnson Coliseum is set for 6:30 pm.
Now 4-10 overall on the season and 1-2 in the Southland, the Huskies have dropped three in a row following the loss to Lamar in a barn-burner at the NFCU Arena at the Montagne Center on Saturday evening. Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks, HCU was done in with just 0.2 seconds left on a jumper by Ja'Sean Jackson that finished off a thrilling 63-61 win for the first-place Cardinals.
A seven-point lead was built by the break as a put-back dunk by
Trent Johnson and a drive to the hoop with one second remaining by
Bryson Dawkins gave the Huskies a 36-29 edge at halftime. Lamar came out smoking to start the second frame, using a 12-0 burst out of the blocks to retake the lead.
The Huskies scored just 12 points over the first 12 minutes of the half and trailed by eight, 56-48 with 7:35 to go. HCU then got two coast-to-coast and-one finishes by Johnson and
Demari Williams as part of a 9-0 run to grab the lead again. A three-point play by Alexis Marmolejos tied the game at 61 leading to Jackson's game-ending heroics.
The loss offset a pair of 20-pieces from Dawkins and
Julian Mackey that paced the HCU offense. Dawkins hauled in a career-best eight boards, and also set new personal highs with eight field goals made and 17 field goals attempted. Williams added eight points and six caroms.
HCU and Lamar combined for just 13 free throws in the contest with the Huskies going 7-9 in the game. It was the second lowest number of attempts in a game this season, behind only the three attempted in a loss at Creighton on November 13.
Since coming into the Southland in 2013-14, the Huskies have played Lamar a total of 21 times. Sixteen of those games have been decided by 10 points or fewer, with six coming in the last five seconds. Saturday's defeat with 0.2 seconds left was the second time in the last three games between the two that the game had been won just before the final horn, as
Marcus Greene 's three-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining gave HCU a 78-77 win over the Cardinals in the Darius Lee Memorial Classic game in Sharp Gym last January 20.
The Huskies have now played eight games this season decided by seven points or less, half of those by three or less. Twice defeat has come on last second shots, falling at home to Northern Arizona 74-71 and at Lamar 63-61.
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.
Through three conference games, Dawkins is averaging 18.3 points to top the squad, followed by Mackey at 16.3. Dawkins is second on the club in rebounding at 6.7 per, behind
Peyton Rogers seven caroms a game.
Trent Johnson averages seven points and 2.3 steals per game, while Williams is scoring 6.7 points and grabbing four boards through three games.
On Monday the Huskies make the trek to East Texas to take on Stephen F. Austin State University for the first time since 2019, as the Lumberjacks are back in the Southland after spending the past three years in the WAC. A perennial power in the league before their departure, the Jacks lead the all-time series with HCU 19-1 with the only win for the Huskies coming in 1979, a 70-67 win in Sharp Gym.
After dropping both ends of the Southland Conference opening weekend in early December at UTRGV and Corpus, SFA lost 55-49 to Incarnate Word on Saturday evening to fall to 7-7 overall and 0-3 in the league. It is the first 0-3 start in SLC play for SFA since the 2005-06 season.
The club is led by 6'1 transfer guard Keon Thompson's 13.3 points while 6'5 senior wing Matt Hayman averages 12.2 points. Nacogdoches native Nana Antwi-Boasiako, a 6'9 forward, averages 9.6 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds.
HCU is even-steven in games played on January 6, posting a 9-9 mark all-time. HCU last played on January 4 in 2014, an 86-69 defeat at Central Arkansas with its last victory coming in 2006, a 68-65 win over Huston-Tillotson College. HCU last played on January 6 during its final season in the NAIA, getting a 75-61 victory over Bacone College.
Following the game with SFA, the Huskies will make their return to Sharp Gym on January 11, commencing a four-game homestand with rival University of the Incarnate Word. That Saturday afternoon tilt is part of a twin-bill with the women, who play at 1 pm, followed by the men at 3:30 pm.
HCU will then host defending Southland champ McNeese on Monday the 13th before finishing the stretch hosting UTRGV and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi the following weekend.
#DawgsUp
