LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana  — Houston Christian University had its season come to a close on Sunday evening with a hard-fought 62-48 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the 2025 Jersey Mike's Southland Conference Tournament at the Legacy Center. HCU trailed by just five with eight minutes to play, but the Islanders used a 17-8 run down the stretch to pull away and advance to the quarterfinals.
 
The game got off to a slow start with both teams working to feel out their surroundings in the first round affair. HCU forced two tough shots with the shot clock winding down before getting a slithery move to the cup from Julian Mackey for the game's first score right at two minutes in.
 
That's where the pace picked up considerably. A three-point play by Elijah Brooks was followed by a monstrous smash off a drive down the middle by Bryson Dawkins to give HCU a 9-8 lead, but TAMUCC answered with five straight to push ahead 14-9.
 
HCU stormed right back on corner three-pointer from Mackey before a nice drive by Trent Johnson knotted things at 14 apiece with 11:25 to play, where the game finally hit the first media timeout. The Islanders hit a pair of charity shots right before another media commenced just 28 seconds following the first, and Dawkins hit one of two out of that television timeout as TAMUCC led 16-15 closing in on the halfway point of the first stanza.
 
Peyton Rogers knocked down a triple to tie things at 18. Dian Wright-Forde and Damario Dennis knocked down back-to-back from long range and moments later Garry Clark hit one of two from the stripe to give the Islanders a 26-19 margin with still six minutes to go.
 
The Huskies then put together three solid stops. The first led to a Dawkins hit from deep that ended the Islander run and another bucket by Mackey sliced the lead to two, 26-24 with 3:50 left in in the frame.
 
Corpus then put together its best stretch of the half. After Leo Torbor hit two free throws, Garry Clark hit a follow-up in the paint and a ensuing steal and layup by Torbor extended the lead to eight. Jaden Walker then scored on an inbounds play with 32 seconds to go, completing an 8-0 shutout over the final four minutes to give TAMUCC its first double-digit lead, 34-24 heading into the intermission.
 
HCU got three straight stops just out of the second half gate, and Julian Mackey would hit a banker and then a three, cutting the lead to six. Garry Clark then scored twice in the paint to push the lead back to 10, 40-30.
 
A pull-up jumper by D'Aundre Samuels was followed by a three from Mason McBride, halving the deficit at 40-35. Once more, the Islanders had a response, getting a drive from Jaden Walker, one of two free throws from Clark and a short score from Stephen Giwa. McBride hit again from deep just before the under-eight and the Huskies were down just five, 45-40 with 7:59 remaining.
 
The Islanders then began to methodically pull away. Consecutive three-pointers from Clark and Wright-Forde were followed by a Stephen Giwa bucket inside that pushed the lead back to 10. Peyton Rogers hit a three from the corner, but Clark responded with a long straightaway jumper before TAMUCC called timeout with 3:11 to go and a 55-46 advantage.

A steal and layin by Wright-Forde out of the break got the lead up to 11 closing in on the two-minute mark and the Islanders would sail to the finish line from there.
 
HCU shot just 35% from the floor for the game while TAMUCC hit at a 47% clip overall and efficient 39% from the arc. The Islanders forced HCU into a season-high used a huge advantage on the backboards, cleaning the class to a 45-21 tune that led to a 9-0 edge in second chance points.
 
Julian Mackey led the Huskies with 17 points and Bryson Dawkins added nine points and four steals. Elijah Brooks had five points, four assists and three steals and Mason McBride contributed six points, two boards and two assists for HCU.
 
TAMUCC was led by Garry Clark, who had a double-double, posting game-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Dian Wright-Forde had 13 poitns while Jaden Walker also added a double-double with 10 points and 10 caroms for the Islanders, who notched their 20th victory of the season, and will advance to take on fourth-seeded Northwestern State University on Monday afternoon.
 
Houston Christian University finishes the 2024-25 campaign, its first under Head Coach Craig Doty, with a 12-20 overall record.
 
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