HCU vs. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Houston Christian University plays its final home game on Monday night, welcoming Stephen F. Austin State to Sharp Gymnasium in an important Southland conference matchup with postseason implications. The game will also represent "Senior Night" as the Huskies honor four outgoing student-athletes (
Marques Gates,
Nathan Self,
Ivan Reynolds and
Julian Mackey) with a short ceremony prior to tip-off.
The Huskies suffered defeat in their penultimate home game of the regular season, dropping a 66-58 decision to second-place Lamar University in the 11th annual "Hustlin ' Huskies" throwback game. HCU and Lamar played to a defensive stalemate in the first frame before the visiting Cardinals caught fire in the second half to build a double-digit lead and never look back.
The two teams shot identical 10-30 (33%) clips in the first half, with Lamar taking a 27-26 lead at the break. A dry spell for the Huskies early in the second frame allowed the visitors to forge ahead before a late burst by the Huskies made things interesting. The Cardinals ended up shooting 69% in the second half to end at 50% from both the field and the arc while snatching a 37-28 advantage on the glass over the short-handed Huskies.
Bryson Dawkins and
Julian Mackey each had 18 points to lead all scorers on the afternoon. Mackey had five boards and Dawkins four while
Porter Bazil added 10 points, four boards and three blocked shots in his second start of the campaign.
The loss dropped HCU's record in the 1973-74 retros to 7-4 all-time since beginning the one-game tradition in 2014-15 when the program celebrated its 50th season. Saturday was the third time that HCU and Lamar had faced off in the throwback game, with the Cardinals getting their first win against the "Hustlin' Huskies".
HCU is led by first-year head coach
Craig Doty, who was hired as the ninth head coach in school history last March. 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 15.8 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 80.5 % clip for the season. Mackey averages 16.6 a game in SLC play.
Bryson Dawkins is now ninth in the league in scoring at 14.0 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 16.3, 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 and now currently sits on 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game on the season.
At 11-17 overall and 8-9 in the Southland, the Huskies stand in seventh in the SLC table and face an SFA team sitting one game behind them and tied for the eighth and final postseason spot. A&M-Corpus Christi and Nicholls joined regular-season champion McNeese, Lamar and Southeastern as those who have now qualified for the postseason tournament in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with three spots in the field still up for grabs heading into the final three games on the conference docket.
HCU and SFA have met 21 times, with the Huskies claiming their first-ever win in Nacogdoches this past January 6, going wire-to-wire for an 83-73 victory in the season's first meeting. Mackey led the way for HCU in that game with 22 points, while
Elijah Brooks had 13 points, seven boards, and career-highs of six assists and four steals.
The Lumberjacks spent the last three seasons in the WAC before returning to the Southland last summer. Now led by interim head coach Tony Jasick, the Jacks had come on as of late, winning five in a row after a 2-9 start in league play before falling in a 63-61 nail-biter at Incarnate Word on Saturday. SFA is now 14-14 overall and 7-10 in the SLC and tied with UIW for the eighth and final postseason spot heading into Monday night's action, both teams one game behind the Huskies.
The club is led by 6'5 senior wing Matt Hayman averages 14.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists. 6'1 transfer guard Keon Thompson goes for 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while Nacogdoches native Nana Antwi-Boasiako, a 6'9 forward, averages 9.6 points and team-bests of six rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots.
This will be the 15
th time for HCU to play on February 24. The Huskies fell 86-73 to Northwestern State last year to drop to 5-9 all-time on this date. The last win for HCU on the 24
th came in 2022 in an 82-68 victory over UIW.
The Huskies will take to the road for the final two regular season contests, heading to Northwestern State on Saturday followed by a trip to East Texas A&M for Monday's finale.
#DawgsUp
