HOUSTON — Houston Christian University staved off a late rally from Southern Arkansas University to take a 74-70 victory in Sharp Gym on Monday night. The Huskies saw a second half double-digit lead evaporate as the visiting Muleriders tied things up with just under two minutes to play before four clutch free throws by Kylin Green sealed the season-opening victory.
 
Southern Arkansas jumped out early, as Greg Moore Jr. hit a three then collected a steal and two free throws to give the visitors a 5-2 lead just over a minute in. A layup by Green gave the Huskies the lead and was quickly followed by a steal and one-hand hammer by Mambourou Mara for an 8-5 advantage just seconds before the first media timeout.

With the game tied at 10 and 14 minutes still to play in the opening frame, HCU stunned the Riders with a two-minute run. Damari Williams sandwiched two layups around a dunk from Ahjany Lee, and Green capped it the 8-0 burst after he collected a blocked shot by Lee and raced to the other end for a lay-in, pushing HCU ahead 18-10 with 12:17 showing on the board.
 
The Huskies still led 22-17 with 9:19 to go, but then went dry for a spell. SAU took advantage, putting together a 9-2 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes, eventually retaking the lead 26-24 on Chase Jenkins layup at the 4:49 mark. HCU came right back as five straight points from Green and four more from Lee highlighted an 13-4 run down the stretch that pushed the Huskies back out in front, as they took a 37-30 lead into the break.
 
The Led would grow to 16 on a quick 9-0 spurt out of the intermission. Trent Johnson's three was followed by a bucket inside from Nehikhare Igiehon as the Huskies grabbed a 46-30 lead. Up 52-43 at the halfway point of the second session, D'Aundre Samuels got a nice bounce from deep, pushing HCU up 55-43 with 10:35 to go. It would be the last double-digit lead of the night for the Huskies.
 
The Muleriders Greg Moore Jr then got hot, knocking down three straight triples, but the Huskies were able to answer and still led by eight, 62-54 on a layup by Ryan Bartley with eight to play. Troy'reon Ramos hit a couple of buckets and by the three-minute mark SAU had cut things to two on Moore Jr.'s conventional three-point play.
 
A layup by Igeihon gave HCU a three-point lead back with 2:07 to go, but Roderick Williams Jr. then nailed a triple to tie the game at 70. Kylin Green would knock down two free throws with 1:14 to go before Mara made the biggest defensive play of the night, blocking Jair Horton's layup attempt with 50 ticks left. The Muleriders were forced to foul several times before putting the Huskies in the bonus, where Green calmly canned two more freebies with 21 seconds left to put the icing on the cake.
 

HCU earned a 42-26 edge on points in the paint and a 21-14 margin from it's bench brigade. The Huskies shot 44% on the evening and 71% from the charity stripe to offset a slow night from distance. HCU held Southern Arkansas to just 37% shooting from the floor and 30% from the arc.
 
Kylin Green led the way for HCU, posting career-highs with his 17 points and nine dimes in his Sharp Gym debut. Nehikhare Igiehon had 13 points and five boards and Trent Johnson closed out the double-digit trio with 12 points to go with a team-high seven caroms and three blocked shots. Mara had seven points, six boards and a career-best four blocked shots while Ahjany Lee added seven points.
 
Greg Moore Jr. led all scorers with 20 points, going 4-8 from the arc for the Muleriders. Troy'reon Ramos had 13 points, four rebounds, four helpers and three steals, while Jair Horton and Williams, Jr. each had nine points.
 
HCU is now 1-0 on the season and will return to action this weekend with its first road test of the season. The Huskies hit the Golden State for a first-ever meeting with the UC-San Diego on Saturday evening.
 
 
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