CORPUS CHRISTI --- Houston Christian University opened its four-game road swing with a heartbreaking loss, falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 73-71 at the Hilliard Center on Saturday afternoon. A back-and-forth affair saw the host Islanders create a little separation in the final stretch before a late rally by the Huskies was squelched.
Demari Williams scored the first five points of the game for the Huskies but was matched by TAMUCC's Mason Gibson. A three-ball by
Trent Johnson gave HCU a 10-7 lead, but three straight layups, the final by Leo Torbor, gave the Islanders a 13-10 edge with 14:11 to go.
The Islanders would take a 16-13 lead by the second media timeout but out of that break, the Huskies began to find their range with a bevy of connections from long range. A pair of triples by
D'Aundre Samuels knotted the score at 19, and seconds later,
Ryan Bartley connected to give HCU the lead at 22-19.
Samuels would hit again from long range, as would Bartley, with 6:16 to go to give HCU a 29-24 lead. A driving bucket by
Trent Johnson kept HCU ahead 33-30 with 3:07 left, and that would be the last points for either club for nearly two minutes before Bartley connected on a short jumper that beat the shot clock and pushed the advantage back to five for the Huskies with 1:08 to go.
The Islanders would get an offensive putback by Cenker Evran and Mason Gibson hit two of three free throws with no time remaining, as the Huskies took a one-point lead, 35-34 into the lockeroom.
Out of the intermission, the two teams would trade buckets for the first six-plus minutes.
D'Aundre Samuels and
Demari Williams would each score twice, but a Cenker Evran layup tied things up for the hosts with 13:40 to go. Sheldon Williams split a pair of free throws, but an offensive board led to two more free throws by Nick Shogbonyo, giving TAMUCC a three-point edge, 46-43 with 12:43 to go.
HCU came right back. Two more free throws by
Demari Williams were chased by a three-ball in the corner by Bartley, giving the Huskies a 49-48 lead with 11:27 to play. That lead would short-lived however, as DA Houston drilled a three that was followed by two straight buckets from Wheatfall to give the Islanders a 53-48 lead at the midway point of the second frame.
Demarco Bethea converted on a dunk to cut the lead to three a moment before the under-eight. Coming out of that halt of play, the Huskies got two charity shots from
Kylin Green to once again make it a one-point game, 55-54 TAMUCC with 7:25 to go.
At that point, the Islanders tried made a decisive push, leaning on their defense. A triple by Nick Shogbonyo preceded a steal and layup by Wheatfall, and Mason Gibson then got a hoop and harm on a runner in the lane, extending the hosts lead to 63-56.
Demari Williams stopped the spurt with an offensive putback, and the Huskies were down five with five left on the Hillard Center scoreboards. A nifty spin move and hesi by
Demarco Bethea would cut the deficit to three as the game hit the final media timeout.
The run continued once the teams returned to the floor. After a couple of free throws by Mason Gibson, a pair of stops led to consecutive layups by Leo Torbor and Gibson, capping off a 14-6 spurt that gave the hosts their largest advantage to that point at nine, 69-60 with 2:09 remaining in the matinee.
HCU wouldn't go quietly, making one last mad dash to the finish line. A layup by
D'Aundre Samuels and a three-ball by
Trent Johnson would make it a one-possession game with 12 seconds to go, 71-69.
Forced to foul, the Huskies sent Mason Gibson to the line where he split a pair, leaving the lead at three. The Islanders then fouled with 3.4 seconds put
Trent Johnson at the line, where he made both to make it a one-point game. HCU fouled Nick Shogbonyo with 2.4 seconds on the clock, and he would make the first free throw before back-ironing the second. The ball slipped through traffic and right back to Shogbonyo as the clock ran out, as the Islanders escaped with a two-point win.
The Huskies shot 52% in the first half, aided by a blistering of the nets from three-point range, going 8-10 in the opening frame. That would turn around in the second half, as the long-range shots didn't fall with HCU going just 2-11 in the second half, still finishing the game at a hearty 48%. HCU was 17-20 from the line but the host Islanders shot 55% for the afternoon and used a bloated 42-18 edge in paint points to hold off the Huskies.
HCU put five players in double-figure scoring on the day.
Demari Williams had 17 points as did
D'Aundre Samuels, his a season-high coming on 3-6 shooting from the arc.
Ryan Bartley matched a career-high with his four treys, finshing with 14 points, while
Demarco Bethea and
Trent Johnson each chipped in 10 points each. Bethea led the Huskies with six boards.
TAMUCC (12-10, 8-5 SLC) was led by by Mason Gibson, who tallied 18 points while also grabbing six boards. Cenker Evran scored 13 points and added six boards as well. DA Houston had nine as HCU held TAMUCC's two leading scorers Sheldon Williams and Nick Shogbonyo to just eight and seven points respectively.
HCU falls to 8-14 overall and 4-9 in the Southland Conference. The road stretch continues on Monday night, as the Huskies travel further South into the Valley for a rematch with UTRGV, the second meeting between the two schools in nine days. UTRGV raced past UIW 106-93 in San Antonio on Saturday, leaving the Huskies and Cardinals tied just outside the eighth and final spot for the conference tournament with nine games left to play.
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