NEW ORLEANS – Houston Christian University (9-11, 6-3 Southland) was able to pull away from the University of New Orleans Privateers (4-16, 2-7 Southland) late in the second half and walk out of Lakefront Arena with an 86-76 victory on Saturday night.
With 5:30 to play in a back-and-forth affair featuring several highlight-reel dunks from both sides, Huskies guard Bryson Dawkins hit a step-back three over the outstretched arms of a Privateer defender, giving the Huskies a 70-64 lead.
James White's chance to answer on the other end fell short.
The Privateers and Huskies were tied at 62-62 with 7:27 remaining but HCU subsequently went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes and were able to hold from that point to a 10-point win.
Scoring 20 or more for the tenth time in his 19 games played this season, White finished with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting. He was one rebound short of his fourth double-double after pulling down nine boards. It was also the fourth time he has made 11+ field goals in a game this year, and his third game with 40 or more minutes of action.
A seesaw first half featured seven lead changes, with the game tied five different times. Both teams were nearly even from the floor in the first frame, with HCU knocking down 16-of-32 (50.0%) and the Privateers a shade better at 16-of-31 (51.9%).
With UNO trailing by seven,
Dae Dae Hunter came off a screen to hit a straightaway three before Turk Vincent knocked down his tenth three-pointer in the last three games with 28 seconds to play in the half. One
Jah Short steal and fast-break layup from White later, and UNO led at intermission, 38-37.
Vincent finished with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting for UNO, while Hunter added 15 after making 4-of-7 shots, including three three-pointers. Short had six assists, his fifth game in the past six with four or more.
Dawkins finished a point shy of White with a career-high 28 on 11-of-20 shooting. HCU controlled the boards 32-26. The 26 rebounds match a season low for New Orleans, also done at East Texas A&M.
The Privateers return to action Monday night at Lakefront Arena against UIW. The game, originally scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff, has been moved to 7:00 p.m. due to the women's game against the Cardinals being rescheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Monday because of last week's weather.
Both games will air on ESPN+, and the men's game will also air locally on The Ticket 106.1 FM.
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