HOUSTON --- A soft runner on the right baseline by D'Aundre Samuels found nothing but the bottom of the net with 1.6 seconds remaining, handing Houston Christian University a hard-fought 61-60 victory over University of New Orleans in a Valentine's Day slugfest in Sharp Gymnasium. The Huskies led by 10 with six to play before staving off a late comeback attempt, sinking the Privateers to earn an important win in their bid for the postseason.
 
The Privateers raced out to a 7-0 lead with three minutes gone in the contest, capped by a putback dunk by Churchill Abass. The Huskies would slowly creep back into things, cutting the deficit to two, 11-9 on a jumper by Ryan Bartley with 13:14 to play.
 
Eight minutes later, the defensive battle swayed toward the hosts. Demarco Bethea converted a conventional three-point play and a monster dunk by Mambourou Mara on a backdoor dime from Trent Johnson gave HCU a 19-17 lead with 5:53 to go.
 
UNO restaked itself to a short-lived lead, 26-24 on another score by Abass in the paint, but the Huskies would then close with five straight. A three-ball from Trent Johnson was followed by two free throws from Bethea as HCU took a 29-26 edge to the intermission, a lead preserved on a nice defensive recovery and blocked shot by Caleb Gaston.
   
The pace slowed to begin the second stanza, as both teams ramped up the defense once more. A steal on the sideline by Trent Johnson led to a nifty finish on the break by D'Aundre Samuels, giving HCU a 39-34 lead eight minutes into the half.
 
A layup by Tavaj Cope cut the lead to one, 39-38 as the game neared its final 10 minutes. The Huskies then blitzed the Privateers with a 14-5 spurt over the next four minutes, capped by back-to-back hits from deep by Ryan Bartley and Trent Johnson. The latter, a deep connection from straightaway by Johnson, gave HCU its only double-digit lead of the night, 53-43 with 6:08 to play.
 
From there, UNO made its one last push. The Privateers ramped up the pressure and came back with a runover their own. Cope had a monstrous dunk on the break to cut the lead to two, and moments later a three-ball plus the split of a pair of free throws by Coleton Benson tied things at 59 with 2:02 to play, finishing off the 16-6 burst.
 
The Huskies had first crack at the final lead, as a layup by Bethea went awry. The Privateers then had a shot with Cope missing a short jumper in the lane with a buck left on the clock. HCU got another good look from Johnson that didn't fall, and Abass was then fouled on an offensive rebound with 14 seconds to play. He made the first and missed the second to give UNO the lead and keep the door open for the Huskies.
 
After a timeout with six seconds left, it was time for some Sharp Gym heroics, on this afternoon provided by D'Aundre Samuels. Taking the ball from the top of the key, Samuels raced to the right baseline and lofted a short runner that tickled nothing but twine to give HCU the lead. A last-second heave from UNO was no good, handing the Huskies a much-needed victory in their race to the postseason.
 
The game was a fist-fight from the jump, as neither team backed down in a very physical contest. HCU shot just 43% while UNO was held to a 45% clip and just 12.5% from the arc from a solid defensive effort by the Huskies. The Privateers won the paint to a 44-30 tune, but the Huskies won the battle of the benches 19-5 and converted 10-14 form the charity stripe to 9-16 by New Orleans, ultimately the difference in the game.
 
Samuels paced a trio of Huskies in double-figures with 15 points on 7-10 shooting and added four boards, three assists and three blocked shots. Ryan Bartley went 6-12 for 13 points, while Demarco Bethea chipped in 13 as well. Trent Johnson went 3-7 from deep and Kylin Green added six assists. Demari Williams had a team high seven boards for the Huskies.
 
UNO, which came into the game in a three-way tie for fourth place, was led by Churchill Abass, who had 18 points and nine rebounds. MJ Thomas had 12 points and eight caroms and Tavaj Cope added 10 points and four boards for the Privateers, now 11-15 and 9-8 in Southland action, falling to sixth in the standings.
 
HCU is now 9-17 overall and 5-12 in the Southland Conference. The Huskies remain one game out of the eighth and final SLC playoff spot held currently by Northwestern State, as they are now tied with UIW, East Texas A&M and Southeastern. HCU completes the quick two-game home stay with a Monday night matchup against Nicholls State University with tip-off slated for 7 pm.
 
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