LAKE CHARLES, La. --- Houston Christian University saw its 2025-26 campaign come to a close with a 73-60 loss to the University of New Orleans in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament at the Townsley Law Arena on the campus of McNeese State University. The Huskies trailed by just one at the break, but a 12-0 UNO spurt in the early going of the second half gave the Privateers control and pushed them into the quarterfinals, ending HCU's season.
A short jumper by MJ Thomas in the paint gave UNO a quick 6-2 advantage just three minutes into the contest. Two free throws by
Kylin Green cut the lead to two, and a long rebound and run-out by
D'Aundre Samuels tied things up. A Churchill Abass throwdown on the next possession gave the Privateers the lead, 8-6 as the two teams hit the first postseason media timeout.
The Huskies then went on a little burst. A short step-back jumper by
Trent Johnson was followed by a three in the corner by
D'Aundre Samuels. Moments later, Samuels canned another from deep and
Ryan Bartley converted on a 2-on-1 break to give HCU an 18-14 edge and force a New Orleans timeout as the first half hit the midway point.
A Kedrick Osby layup cut the HCU lead to two before the media, and a MJ Thomas dunk made it a one-point game seconds later. Osby then connected on a short jumper in the paint to give the Privateers the lead, 23-22. The lead was short-lived however, as Samuels stroked his third trey of the first half as the clock went under four minutes.
UNO grabbed the edge right back on a three-ball by Irish Coquia and a pair of charity shots by MJ Thomas. Osby then connected again on a mid-range, and the Privateers had a three-point margin with 2:22 to go in the first frame. A Coleton Benson runner off the glass pushed the margin to five before
Demarco Bethea muscled one home inside. Samuels would score on the next possession to pull HCU to within three, 34-31 with just 45 seconds on the clock.
Kylin Green then hit a short jumper just before the half to cut the deficit to one, 34-33 at intermission.
A short jumper by
Ryan Bartley gave HCU the lead to open the second half, but Jakevion Buckely answered with a three and Coleton Benson knocked down a mid-range to push the UNO lead back to four, 39-35. A few moments later Benson connected from long range to cap a 12-0 spurt over a three-minute span that gave New Orleans its first double-digit lead at 46-35, and forced HCU into a timeout with 16:17 to go in the game.
The lead for UNO would stay in double-digits, as Cope would hit back-to-back layups to edge UNO ahead further before a pair of free throws by
Ryan Bartley stemmed the tide and later, Samuels would connect for a fourth time from downtown, and HCU trailed by a dozen 54-42 as the game neared the 11-minute mark.
Churchill Abass had two buckets inside to push the lead to 18 with 7:32 to go.
Demarco Bethea scored inside at the five-minute mark and
Kylin Green then nailed a three to cut the deficit back to a dozen with 4:31 to play. A layup by
Demarco Bethea and a
Trent Johnson three-ball cut the deficit to ten with just under two minutes to go but that was as close as the Huskies would get the rest of the way.
The Huskies shot 50% in the first half, but went cold in the second hitting at a 32% clip to finish at 40 on the night. UNO conversely shot 46% overall and used a 43-27 edge on the glass that helped lead to an 11-0 win in second chance points on the night.
HCU was led by
D'Aundre Samuels, who came two points shy of tying his career-high. He recorded 20 points, going 4-6 from deep while also grabbing four boards and dishing out three assists.
Kylin Green had 13 points and four assists and
Demarco Bethea finished with 11 points.
Ryan Bartley chipped doing nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
New Orleans (15-17) was paced by Jakevion Buckley and Coleton Benson, each with 14 points. Buckley went for four boards and six assists. MJ Thomas had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Churchill Abass chipped in seven points and 11 caroms. The Privateers avenged a season sweep by the Huskies, and will advance to the quarterfinals where they will take on fourth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christ on Monday evening.
The Huskies finish their second campaign under Head Coach
Craig Doty with a 12-20 record.
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