The men’s basketball team went on the road to face Houston Baptist University for its final game of the 2016-2017 season and lost 81-72.
The men shot 51 percent from the field making 30-of-59 shots and also shot 33 percent from the arc making eight-of-24 three pointers.
The Huskies were on fire from three-point range going five for seven in the first half and seven of 13 in the second half giving them a combined percentage of 60 for the game.
They also shot 53 percent from the field making 30-of-57 shots.
In the first half the Wildcats controlled the game as they were up 22-15 through the first nine minutes.
The men kept a comfortable lead until the end of the half when the Huskies scored seven straight points to make the score 31-30
Sophomore forward Hayden Howell then closed the scoring in the first half with a jumper to make the score 33-30
In the second half, the score stayed tight until the 6:06 mark when Atif Russell of HBU made a three pointer to put his team up 68-61 and started an 11-2 run to give the Huskies a 76-63 lead.
The Wildcats closed out the game on a 9-5 run, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskies 11-2 run was more than enough to get the victory.
Junior guard Isaiah Tripp spoke about how this loss, as well as the team record, does not define their season.
“It’s hard to lose the final and any game for that matter, but we did make some strides this season,” Tripp said. “The record does not tell the whole story for us this year and with that being said, we are very excited for what’s to come next season.”
Sophomore Jaren Lewis led the men with 23 points and also grabbed the most rebounds with 11 making him the co-team leader for the season in points per game with 13.7 and the lone team leader in rebounds per game with 6.6.
Jaylen Franklin dished out the most assists with seven and ended the season as the leading play maker on the team with 4.4 assists per game.
Tripp talked about the focus for the off-season leading up to next year.
“We have a great core group of guys returning next season and we’re just looking to elevate our games individually and focus on taking advantage of the opportunities we let slip away this season.” Tripp said.
The men finish the season at ninth in the conference with a 7-11 record in Southland play and a 13-16 overall record.
