EDINBURG, Texas --- Houston Christian University dropped a 74-52 decision to University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Saturday afternoon at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The short-handed Huskies couldn't get anything going offensively and saw the hosts use a combined run prior to and just after the half to take control and win going away.
A slow start on the offensive end for HCU was balanced out by some solid defense to keep things close early. A three from
Porter Bazil made the score 4-3 UTRGV three minutes in and moments later a floater from
Elijah Brooks pulled the Huskies to 9-6. Another score for the visitors, this time on a tip-in by
Peyton Rogers, kept the deficit at three, 11-8 with 11:57 to play in the first half.
The Huskies would then get a layup from
Bryson Dawkins and a moment later Rogers hit two from the charity stripe to close to three once again. UTRGV got a short score from Howie Fleming Jr. on one side of the media and a layup by Trey Miller on the other to go up seven.
Trent Johnson countered with a three from the corner and a few possessions later
D'Aundre Samuels scored on a jumper to keep the Huskies within four, 21-17. Dawkins then scored five straight, including a three from in front of the UTRGV bench, pulling the Huskies to within one, 23-22 with 3:37 to go in the first frame.
Dawkins made it eight straight when he canned another from long range with 1:20 to go in the half but the hosts answered strongly. An 8-0 spurt including two deep three-balls from Cliff Davis gave the Vaqueros their largest lead of the half at nine, 34-25. A floater from
Mason McBride with nine seconds to go sent the Huskies to the intermission trailing by seven, 34-27.
The second half began similarly to how the first ended, with the Vaqueros scoring eight quick points, five more coming from the hot hand of Davis. His three-pointer pushed the UTRGV lead to 15, 42-27, forcing an HCU timeout just two and half minutes into the second session.
A fallaway from Trey Miller was followed by yet another trey from Davis, making the advantage 20 and leading to another timeout from the Huskies with 15:42 to go. A Rogers three-ball would cut the lead to 15, 51-36 at the 12:20 mark, but that was as close as the Huskies would get the rest of the way.
The Huskies struggled from the floor, hitting just 34% from the field and 24% from the arc. UTRGV conversely went 51% from the field, and 10-26 for 39% from long range. The two teams combined for 11 free throw attempts in the game, just one coming for the Vaqueros.
Bryson Dawkins led a trio of Huskies in double-digits with 15 points.
Peyton Rogers had 10 points, eight boards, two blocks and two steals.
Porter Bazil also scored 10, hitting a career-high three three-pointers for the third time in the last seven games while adding two assists and two blocks.
Elijah Brooks made his return to the lineup after missing two and a half games, scoring six points and tying Rogers with eight boards.
Cliff Davis led all scorers with 23 points and Trey Miller added 20 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals for UTRGV, which improves to 14-12 overall and 6-9 in conference action. Howie Fleming Jr. added 11 points for the Vaqueros, who led from start to finish to maintain a tie for the eighth and final postseason spot with SFA, which knocked off Northwestern State on Saturday.
Houston Christian University is now 11-15 overall and 8-7 in the league. The Huskies, who have dropped four of their last five, remain tied with Northwestern State three games back of second place. League-leading McNeese remains the only team in the conference to have clinched a postseason berth.
The two-game road trip concludes as the Huskies travel back up the coastline to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday night. The Huskies took the previous meetings with the Islanders in Sharp Gym, winning 76-72 on January 20. Tip-off at American Bank Center is scheduled for 7 pm.
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