HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University raced out to double-figure leads in both halves then rallied in the final five minutes to outlast Nicholls State University for a thrilling 72-68 victory on Monday evening in Sharp Gymnasium. The Huskies captured an important second straight down-to-the-wire home win to move into a tie for the final Southland Conference postseason berth.
The game started out much like Saturday's contest with New Orleans, as both teams looked to establish defense right out off the bat. A tip-in dunk by Jalik Dunkley and a layup by Sincere Malone gave the Colonels a 6-4 lead with nearly four minutes gone, but
Trent Johnson nailed a three to give the Huskies the lead 8-7.
Mambourou Mara then went on personal attack on the rim, smashing home three dunks and a layup over the next eight minutes as part of a 19-5 burst. The run, capped by a jumper by
Trent Johnson, gave the Huskies a 27-12 lead with 6:44 to play before the break.
Demarco Bethea then scored six quick points, and HCU still led by 11, 33-22 with 2:41 to go. The Colonels would put together a late push and a Christian Winborne connection from deep cut the visitors deficit to 35-29 at intermission.
The Huskies came out quick to start the second stanza. A put-back dunk by
Trent Johnson gave HCU it's double-digit lead back at 39-29, and a nifty teardrop in the lane by
Ryan Bartley pushed the lead to 13, 50-37 as the under-12 media approached.
Nicholls was determined to not go away however, and over the next seven minutes used a swarming defense that ignited a run that gave it the lead back. Jaylen Searles got things started with two triples and a pair of free throws, and back-to-back three balls from Zee Hamoda and Nick Krass finished off the 20-3 blitz that handed the Colonels a 55-53 lead with six minutes to play.
A pair of free throws by Sincere Malone put Nicholls up 59-55 with 4:48 to play, but
Ryan Bartley canned a three and another dunk by Mara pulled the Huskies to within one, 61-60. After a missed three by Searles as the shot clock dwindled down,
Kylin Green went coast-to-coast for the hoop and harm, converting a three-point play that sent the home crowd into a frenzy and gave HCU the lead back for good with just over three minutes to go.
D'Aundre Samuels and Bartley would then hit to keep the lead at four, and two free throws apiece by Samuels and Green in the final seconds sealed the win.
HCU finished the night at 45% from the floor while Nicholls shot 42%. Neither team shot particularly well from long range, but the Huskies made good on a huge edge in the paint, outscoring the Colonels 40-28 inside the lane. HCU also helped themselves in a very tight defensive struggle, committing just seven turnovers on the evening.
The Huskies put five players in double-digits, highlighted by career-nights from both
Mambourou Mara and
Demarco Bethea.
Mara posted the first double-double of his career, scoring a season-high 15 points while hauling down a career-best 13 boards while also blocking three shots. Bethea added a career-high 15 points on 7-9 shooting from the floor while also pulling in six caroms.
Kylin Green went 10-11 from the charity stripe, both career-highs, to finish with a dozen points along with his four boards and six helpers.
Ryan Bartley added 11 and
Trent Johnson had 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Nicholls (11-16 | 10-8 SLC) which came into the game in a three-way tie for third place, dropped into a three-way tie for fourth place with the loss. The Colonels were led by Trae English, who scored a game-high 17 points and added six rebounds and six assists. Searles finished with 14 points while Jalik Dunkley recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The win, which snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Colonels, allowed HCU to improve to 10-17 overall and 6-12 in the Southland Conference. Coupled with Monday's Northwestern State loss and East Texas A&M victory, the Huskies join those two in a three-way logjam for the eighth and final SLC postseason berth with just four games left to play in the regular season.
Fittingly, HCU's final road trip of the regular season now looms with games against Northwestern and ETAMU. The Huskies will head to Louisiana to take on the Demons on Saturday afternoon in Natchitoches before heading over to Commerce for a Monday night matchup with the Lions. HCU defeated both clubs to start the four-game homestand at the end of January.
#DawgsUp
