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HOUSTON --- Houston Christian University dropped a 77-56 decision to Stephen F. Austin State University on Saturday afternoon in the annual "Hustlin' Husky" Throwback game in Sharp Gymnasium. The loss, coupled with a University of the Incarnate Word victory over Lamar University, puts the Huskies in a three-way tie with UIW and Lamar heading into the final night of the regular season on Monday.
 
The Lumberjacks jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back, leading wire-to-wire. A tip-in by Marcus Scurry gave the visitors a their first double-figure lead at 14-4 with 12:59 mark, and a three-ball by Narit Chotikavanic pushed the margin to 15, 24-9 with 8:45 remaining in the first frame. SFA took a commanding 42-16 lead at the break.
 
HCU came out of the intermission with a quick six points on two scores from Demari Williams and a pair of charity shots from Mambourou Mara, cutting the deficit to 20, 42-22 just over a minute into the second session. The Lumberjacks would respond with a 10-3 run to push the lead back out.
 
The Huskies would end up outscoring the Jacks by five in the second half, but could never really get over the hump, as SFA matched each burst by the hosts. A jumper by Ahjany Lee sliced the disadvantage to 18, 70-52 with three minutes to go, but that was as close as the Huskies would get the rest of the way.
 
After shooting just 24% in the first frame, HCU went 54% in the second half. The Huskies struggled from distance, making just one of 17 attempts.
 
It was the first game of the season for the Huskies to not have a player in double-digits. Demari Williams and Demarco Bethea led the HCU effort with nine points each, while Kylin Green and Ahjany Lee added eight each, a season-high for Lee. Trent Johnson had seven points and led HCU with eight boards and five assists.
 
SFA (26-4, 19-2 SLC) claimed a share of the regular-season title with the victory. The Jacks were led by Keon Thompson's 17 points while Lateef Patrick added 13 and Marcus Scurry 10. Jerald Colonel had a game-high 11 boards while Ahamed Muhammed added six points and four assists.
 
The Huskies are now 11-19 overall and 7-14 in the SLC. HCU, Lamar and UIW are all tied for the final postseason berth heading into Monday night's regular season finales. UIW will host SFA in San Antonio, while HCU hosts Lamar in Sharp Gymnasium.
 
 
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