HAMMOND, Louisiana --- Houston Christian University roared back from a 14-point halftime deficit to trail by one with just under 10 to play, but Southeastern Louisiana University pulled away down the stretch, outlasting the Huskies 55-47 in a University Center defensive slugfest on Saturday afternoon. The win snapped a three-game skid for SLU, pulling them even with HCU in the Southland Conference standings with seven games left to play.
Both teams struggled in the early going. A layup inside by Jaiden Lawrence gave the Lions an 8-3 lead, but two technical free throws and a bucket by
Demari Williams cut the lead to one, 8-7 with 15:33 to go.
A scoreless drought then ensued for the next four minutes for both teams until a three-pointer from the top of the key by
Mambourou Mara pushed HCU in front 10-8. Jalen Forrest responded with a three of his own to give the Lions the lead back 11-10 with 11:07 to play in the half as the game hit its second media stoppage.
A three-pointer from Makhi Myles pushed SLU's advantage out to 17-12 before
Kylin Green knocked down four charity shots to cut the deficit to one with eight minutes on the clock. From there, the Huskies would go cold again while Southeastern began to find the range. Consecutive scores by Lawrence preceded buckets by Myles and Isaiah Gaines to give the hosts their first double-digit lead of the contest, 27-16 with 4:43 remaining in the first frame.
Myles connected from deep again and Gaines put home a second-chance bucket as the lead grew to 14 before
D'Aundre Samuels connected on a step-back three-pointer to temporarily stop the SLU run and pull the Huskies back to within 11 as the final media break commenced with 2:30 to go.
Southeastern took a 35-21 lead into the half, using an 18-5 burst over the final eight minutes. HCU shot just 6-26 in the first frame, compared to a 60% clip by the host Lions, which included a half-closing 8-10 stretch from the floor.
The second half began slowly just as the first half had. An offensive putback by
Demari Williams got the Huskies deficit back under double-digits and he would later hit a couple of free throws to keep the deficit at nine with under 13 to play.
HCU would then begin to match the offense to the defense.
Mambourou Mara got a slam on a streak down the lane and then just a possession later would get a massive mash off a pick-and-roll to pull HCU to within three. A pair of
Kylin Green free throws then made it a one-point game, 39-38 with nine minutes still to play, capping an 17-4 run to start the half.
That run would seemingly wake up the Lions. Three straight stops by SLU were capitalized on by a jumper by CJ Booker, a dunk by Gaines and then a three-ball from Peter Hemschemeier to push the lead back to eight, 46-38. A Williams bucket and a Mara score got the Huskies back to within four 46-42 with three to play.
Jalen Forrest then hit a three from the corner to push the lead up to seven. A couple of empty possessions from HCU were followed by a pair of free throws by Jeremy Elyzee that pushed the lead back up to nine as the hosts called a timeout with 1:40 remaining in the ballgame. A drive down the middle and slam by Elyzee pushed the lead to 11 with a minute left, effectively putting things out of reach.
A better shooting display in the second half by HCU pulled them back into things, but the Huskies couldn't find their way over the hump. Houston Christian ended the game shooting just 33% overall and 19% from the arc while the Lions shot 48% overall but just 26% from distance and 57% from the free-throw line.
Mambourou Mara had 12 points, four boards and two blocked shots to lead HCU.
Demari Williams had 11 points, five boards and three steals, and
D'Aundre Samuels added nine points.
Kylin Green had eight points and six assists, while
Demarco Bethea led all players with seven rebounds.
Southeastern (7-17 | 4-11 SLC) broke a three-game losing streak with the win pulling the Lions even with the Huskies in the league standings. SLU put just two players in double-digits as well with Isaiah Gaines and Makhi Myles each putting home a dozen points. Gaines also recorded a game-high five assists, while Jalen Forrest had nine points and Jaiden Lawrence added eight and five boards. Jeremy Elyzee had seven points and a team-high six caroms.
HCU is now 8-16 overall and 4-11 in the Southland Conference. The four-game road stretch concludes on Monday as the Huskies travel back east on I-10 to Lake Charles for a tilt with second-place McNeese. Tip-off at the Townsley Law Arena is slated for 6:30 pm.
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