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HCU vs. LAMAR
Houston Christian University opens its final homestand of the season on Saturday when it hosts Lamar University in the 11th annual "Hustlin' Husky" Throwback game. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 pm as the back end of a doubleheader with the women.
HCU began wearing the "running dog" jersey and candy stripe short set during the 2014-15 season when it celebrated the 50
th anniversary of the program. The uniforms are an homage to the 1973-74 squad that adorned both home and away sets during that campaign.
The Huskies now hold a 7-3 record in the retro threads, which have become
nationally recognized since the tradition began. Saturday marks the third time that the Huskies have worn the uniforms against Lamar, winning both previous contests: 94-87 in 2017 and 80-75 in 2021.
Now 11-16 on the season, the Huskies fell to 8-8 in Southland play after losing both ends of their trip south last week. HCU lost at UTRGV on Saturday in Edinburg 76-52 before suffering defeat in a physical back-and-forth battle of attrition on Monday to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 68-62 at the American Bank Center. The Huskies got out to a 15-2 lead early but the Islanders stormed back late in the second half to avenge a loss on January 20 in Sharp Gym and salvage a split of the season series.
Two three-pointers from
Julian Mackey and one each from
Bryson Dawkins and
Elijah Brooks in the opening burst, and eventually took a 33-31 lead into intermission. An 11-3 run by TAMUCC out of the break gave the Islanders a six-point lead, but
Peyton Rogers had three put-backs and a three-ball and Dawkins converted a conventional three-point play as the Huskies grabbed a four-point lead with eight minutes to go. Corpus would end the game on a 19-9 run however to seal the comeback. Brooks led HCU with 16 points, while Dawkins had 15 and eight boards. Rogers finished with nine points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
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.
Julian Mackey continues to pace the Huskies in scoring, sitting at 15.7 points on the campaign. The senior transfer from the Peach State has 10 games with 20 points or more and has eclipsed his career-high three times this year. He currently ranks third in the SLC in scoring and fifth in field goal percentage, fourth in three-point percentage and second from the free throw line at a 79.8 % clip for the season. Mackey averages 16.5 a game in SLC play.
Bryson Dawkins is now ninth in the league in scoring at 13.9 points and he ranks second on the club in rebounding, hauling in 4.8 per game. He is second on the club in conference scoring at 16.2, and along with Mackey still ranks as the third-highest scoring duo in the Southland.
Elijah Brooks returned after missing two games, and averaged 10 points, 4.5 rebounds and three assists in the trip south last week. He currently sits on 9.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game on the season.
The Huskies remain in a tie with Northwestern State for sixth place in the SLC standings. McNeese, Lamar and Southeastern are the only teams to have clinched a spot in the postseason heading into the final four games of conference action.
Lamar enters Saturday's game at 17-10 overall and sitting in second place in the Southland at 12-4. The Cardinals have won four in a row and eight of their last nine since falling at league-leading McNeese on January 18.
HCU and Lamar have now met on 27 occasions all-time, with the Cardinals holding an 18-9 lead in the series. The two teams played on January 4 in Beaumont, with the hosts winning the game 63-61 on a leaner by Ja'Sean Jackson in front of the LU bench with less than a second to play. The two schools have played 22 times while members of the Southland together, with HCU trailing just 12-10 in those contests and six times since 2013-14 the season-series has been split.
Led by 40-year coaching veteran Alvin Brooks, the Cardinals place a trio of players in double-figure scoring on the season, led by Alexis Marmolejos at 14.8 points per night. Ja'Sean Jackson averages 11.5 points and leads the team at 3.8 assists per game, while Andrew Holifield checks in at 11.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots, good for second in the SLC.
Saturday will be the just the 11th time HCU has played on February 22. The Huskies hold a 6-4 mark on this date with their last outing coming during the 2020-21 season in an 86-80 loss at Northwestern State in Natchitoches. The last victory came in 2011, when the Huskies bested Middle Tennessee State University 70-68.
The Huskies will close the home portion of the 2024-25 schedule with a "Senior Night" tilt against Stephen F. Austin State University on Monday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm in Sharp Gym, with a short ceremony prior to the start of the game honoring this year's seniors:
Marques Gates,
Julian Mackey,
Ivan Reynolds and
Nathan Self.
#DawgsUp
