🆚 University of South Dakota
📆 Monday – November 10, 2026
⏰ 7 pm CT
🏟️ Sanford Coyote Sports Center – Vermillion, South Dakota
📈 LIVE STATS
📺 MIDCO SPORTS PLUS
🗒️ GAME NOTES
Houston Christian University finishes a two-game trip to the midwest with a Tuesday night tilt against the University of South Dakota. Tip-off at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion is slated for 7 pm.
HCU picked up its first win away from home on the campaign in a 74-67 victory over Western Illinois University on Saturday night. The Huskies pulled away from the Leathernecks midway through the second half in a game played at Spoon River College in Canton, Illinois.
After falling behind by four early, the Huskies mounted their first charge of the evening, storming to an 18-14 lead following two dunks from
Shawn Simmons II and a layup by
Jonas Nichols on the break. That lead would grow to eight on a three-ball on the break by
Aiden Miller with 2:58 to go and HCU took a 37-31 lead to the intermission.
Deadlocked at 47 midway through the second frame, a layup by
Jonas Nichols and a dunk by Alvarez on the break began a game-deciding spurt for the Huskies. Another layup from Nichols forced a Leatherneck timeout, and out of that stoppage he drilled a three-ball on the break to push the HCU advantage to seven. Another score in the paint by Nichols pushed the HCU edge to its largest of the evening at nine, 60-51 with 9:38 left.
Western cut the deficit to five on a jumper by Makai Kvamme with 8:59 to go, but that would be as close as the hosts would get. HCU shot 55% from the floor and made good on the 16 turnovers it forced from WIU to the tune of a 29-19 edge in points of those giveaways. There was also a formidable advantage off the pine, as the HCU bench brigade outscored that of the Leathernecks 49-29.
Bubz Alvarez led all players with 16 points and eight rebounds, both of which represented career-highs. He was one of four Huskies in double-digits, followed by
Jonas Nichols with 15,
Max Alexander with a dozen and
Shawn Simmons II with 10.
Chris Mubiru had five rebounds and personal-best four steals while
Esyah Pippa-White led HCU with five assists.
It was the second straight victory to open the campaign, the first 2-0 start to a season since 2012-13 when the Huskies won their first two in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i. HCU will take on Western Illinois again later in the month when the Leathernecks return the trip to Sharp Gym.
HCU 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 returned 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.
Max Alexander and
Jonas Nichols are averaging 15.5 points per game to lead HCU in the early going.
Bubz Alvarez is averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals per.
Shawn Simmons II scores 9.5 points per, while
Chris Mubiru adds 7.5 points, 4.5 caroms, 1.5 assists and 2.5 steals.
Mambourou Mara leads the Huskies on the backboards at 7.5 per outing.
Tuesday night's game is the first meeting between HCU and USD since the two were NCAA Division I newcomers and members of the Great West Conference from 2009-11. The Coyotes lead the all-time series 5-0, with the last meeting coming in the regular season finale of 2011, a 96-87 victory for USD in Sharp Gymnasium.
Eric Peterson is in his fourth season at the helm and has the Coyotes at 1-2 on the year following Saturday night's heartbreaking 87-85 home loss to Fullerton. South Dakota is coming off a 16-16 season in 2025-26 which included an 8-8 mark in Summit League play. The game with HCU finishes off a season-opening four-game homestand.
The Coyotes return just three players from last year's squad, most notable being 6'4 sophomore guard Vince Buzelis, who averaged 7.1 points as a freshman. He now paces a handful of Coyotes averaging in double-digit scoring with 20 points per game while also averaging 6.3 boards and 3.3 assists. Senior 6'6 guard Jahni Summers is scoring 17 points per game while shooting 36% from the arc for a USD team averaging 91.3 points per.
There have been eight games in HCU history played on November 10 prior to Tuesday. HCU is 4-4 all-time on this date with the most recent outing being a loss at No. 12 Texas in 2022. HCU's last win came in 2018, a 75-72 victory over Fordham in Sharp Gymnasium.
Following the game with South Dakota, HCU will return home this coming Friday evening when it welcomes cross town foe College of Biblical Studies-Houston to historic Sharp Gymnasium.
#DawgsUp
