Houston Christian University Athletics

VERMILLION, South Dakota --- Houston Christian University broke away late in the first half then withstood a second half surge to record an impressive 87-76 victory over University of South Dakota on Tuesday night at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Coyotes pulled to within one with 10 to play before the Huskies pulled away down the stretch.
 
The two teams spent the better part of the first seven minutes of the contest trading baskets. A three-pointer from Chris Mubiru put HCU ahead 12-10 approaching the 12-minute media, but the Coyotes responded with back-to-back hits from long range, as Kajus Kulbickas and Josiah Dotzler gave the hosts a 16-14 edge heading into the television timeout.
 
Out of that break, D'Aundre Samuels nailed a jumper in the lane to tie things at 16, kicking off a 13-5 run for the Huskies. Max Alexander would hit a three to give HCU the lead back at 22-21, then three minutes later canned another from deep to force a timeout by South Dakota with HCU ahead 27-21 and 7:55 to go in the first frame.
 
The Huskies would then begin to slowly stretch the lead. Jonas Nichols would hit a turnaround and then a floater on the baseline a moment later to give HCU it's largest advantage of the first half at 44-32 with 58 seconds to go. HCU would end up taking a 44-34 lead into the intermission.
 
 As the second half commenced, Mambourou Mara had back-to-back dunks, the second on a follow-up off a missed layup, and Bubz Alvarez hit a layup off a turnover to push the lead to it's biggest of the night at 16, 52-36 with 17:35 to go.
 
South Dakota would respond with a run of their own, going on a 19-4 run over the next seven minutes to cut their deficit to one on a driving layup by Vince Buzelis. Kris Keinys would stop the bleeding with a nice move in the paint, a bucket that then began a game-deciding spurt for the Huskies.
 
Nichols would can two three-pointers in the stretch, the second giving HCU a 70-63 lead as the clock snuck under five minutes. Max Alexander then scored six straight, sandwiching four charity shots around a layup that pushed the Huskies back out in front by double-figures, 76-65 with 3:04 to play. The Coyotes would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as the Huskies cruised to the finish line.
 
HCU shot 56% from the floor on the evening, including a 39% clip from long range. The Huskies forced the hosts into 18 giveaways that turned into 23 points, while holding the lead for over 36 minutes of the contest.
 
Max Alexander and Jonas Nichols combined for 51 points to lead the Huskies. Alexander went 8-12 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 7-11 from the free-throw line for a game-high 26 points, while adding three boards and four assists. Nichols was 10-14 from the field and hit 3-6 from deep to 25 points in 17 minutes off the bench. It was the most points combined in a contest for HCU since Bryson Dawkins and Julian Mackey each went for 27 in a 70-62 victory at Southeastern Louisiana on January 27, 2025.
 
Mambourou Mara registered his second double-double of the campaign with 10 points and a game-high 10 off the backboards. D'Aundre Samuels chipped in 10 as well while adding four steals to complete the double-figure quartet for HCU.
 
Kajus Kublickas led South Dakota (1-3) with 16 points, one of five in double-digits for the Coyotes. Josiah Dotzler had 15 points, four boards and a game-best six assists. The Huskies held USD's leading scorer Vince Buzelis, who came in averaging 20 points per game, to just 11 on 5-9 shooting. Jahni Summers had 11 as well, with Stef van Bussel rounding out the quintet with 10.
 
HCU has now won three in a row to open the season for the first time since 2005-06, when the Huskies started 4-0. The Huskies will return home for their next two contests, beginning with a Friday the 13th matchup against cross-town foe College of Biblical Studies. Tip-off in historic Sharp Gymnasium is slated for 7 pm.
 
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