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KATY, TEXAS (March 13, 2019) In a game that saw both teams shooting over 40%, the No. 8 HBU Huskies came up short, falling to the No. 5 Lamar Cardinals 81-79 in the first round of the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy. The Huskies got off to a fast start in the first half and trailed 33-32 at the half. Lamar went on a 11-4 run to start the second half, which forced HBU head coach Ron Cottrell to call a time out in an attempt to get back control of the game. The Huskies battled tooth-and-nail with the Cardinals, but the game came down to rebounding and free throw shooting. Lamar pulled down 43 rebounds, with the Huskies managing only 28. Lamar shot 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the line, while HBU was 19-of-22 (62.9%).
The Cardinals were led by junior forward Josh Nzeakor, who tallied 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. The Mesquite native tied his season high in rebounds and his 25 points was the second best performance of the season. In addition, teammates Jordan Hunter scored 18, followed by Nick Garth and Edwin Jeudy with 10. Jalon Gates came off the bench to lead the Huskies with 19 points, followed by Edward Hardt with 16, while Braxton Bonds and Oliver Lynch-Daniels added 10 each.
HBU finishes the season with a 12-18 record and will return 10 players for 2019-20. They will be losing guard Stephen O'Suji, center Edward Hardt, and guard Braxton Bonds to graduation.
Next up for Lamar will be a 5 p.m. CDT match up against No. 4 New Orleans tomorrow (Thursday, March 14). The Cardinals will take a 20-12 record into the game, with the Privateers posting a 17-12 season and a 12-6 conference record.
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