🆚 Western Illinois University
📆 Saturday – November 7, 2026
⏰ 6 pm CT
🏟️ Spoon River College MPB – Canton, Illinois
📈 LIVE STATS
📺 ESPN+
🗒️ GAME PROGRAM
Houston Christian University opens the road portion of its 62nd season of basketball as it travels to the midwest for a pair of games, starting with a Saturday tilt against Western Illinois University. The game will be played at Spoon River College in Canton, Illinois.
HCU christened the 2026-27 season with a convincing 108-45 romp over Louisiana Christian University at home on Tuesday night. The Huskies placed a quartet of players in double-digit scoring and trailed only once, that coming in the opening minute. It was the most points scored in a game by HCU since a 107-72 drubbing of Champion Christian in 2023-24.
HCU built the lead to 19 on three occasions before the Wildcats cut the margin to 14 on five straight points from Cam Ned. That would be as close as the visitors would get, as the Huskies opened things up again.
Mambourou Mara highlighted a 20-0 run with two thunderous slams and a three-ball at the buzzer by
Jonas Nichols gave HCU an insurmountable 37-point lead at the break, 58-21. The lead grew to 50 midway through the second frame on a tip-in by Simmons II and HCU coasted the rest of the way.
HCU shot 53.6% on the evening and went 9-25 from deep for 36%. It was a particularly generous night for the hosts, who recorded 24 assists on 37 made baskets while committing just seven turnovers. Conversely, HCU forced 28 giveaways from the Wildcats, claiming a 39-9 edge in points off turnovers while also dominating the paint to a 50-16 advantage.
Four players notched double-digit efforts in game.
Max Alexander led the way with 19 points as he went 9-9 from the charity stripe and added five assists. Nichols had 16 points while Mara posted his first double-double of the campaign with 12 points and 10 boards while also added two blocks and two steals.
Chris Mubiru had 11 points and four boards and
Shawn Simmons II added nine points and six rebounds.
Kris Keinys had a solid first night in Sharp Gym as he posted six points, seven boards and five assists.
Houston Christian University is coming off a second consecutive 12-20 season under
Craig Doty, who enters his third season at the helm. HCU went 8-14 and tied for seventh place in the league and advanced to its second straight Southland Conference Tournament.
HCU returns just two players off of last year's team in 6'3 senior guard
D'Aundre Samuels and 6'6 senior forward
Mambourou Mara. Those two have joined a cast of 13 total newcomers for the Huskies, a bunch that includes 11 transfers. Eight of those transfers carry previous NCAA Division 1 experience, and the 15-man roster boasts players from seven different states and four countries.
The meeting with Western Illinois University is the first-ever between the two schools, and the first of two within the opening month of the season. The game, which can be streamed on ESPN+, is being played at Spoon River College in Canton, Illinois, a short 45-minute drive west of the WIU campus in Macomb. The Leathernecks will make the trip down to Houston for the back half of the home/home series on November 30.
Chad Boudreau is in his fourth season as head coach of the Leathernecks, and his seventh season overall in Macomb. The Leathernecks return just three players from last year's squad, most notable being Makai Kvamme, a 6'2 sophomore guard who made 24 starts in his rookie campaign last year, averaging 25 minutes, 5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per. Also returning is 6'5 swingman Danny Stephens, who averaged 5.5. points and 2.2 rebounds in 15 games.
WIU lost its opener to Valparaiso on Monday night, falling by a 80-58 count. The Leathernecks were paced by 6'9 transfer forward Daivion Traylor, who led the team with 14 points and six boards. Kvamme added 13 points, while Jack Riley, a 6'7 forward, had 11 points and five boards.
Saturday night marks just the fifth time in 62 seasons of HCU Basketball that the Huskies will play a game on November 7. HCU is 0-4 all-time on this date, with the last outing coming in 2022, a 77-66 loss at Florida International University.
The short road trek through the midwest concludes next Tuesday as the Huskies will head to Vermillion, South Dakota to face off with former Great West Conference foe University of South Dakota. HCU will return home next Friday evening when it welcomes College of Biblical Studies-Houston to historic Sharp Gymnasium.
#DawgsUp
