HOUSTON, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana junior forward James Currington had his first career double-double, but Houston Baptist held off a late Lion rally for an 81-74 Southland Conference victory Thursday night in the Sharp Gym.

    Currington had a career-high 11 rebounds to go with 12 points but HBU (6-7, 2-1) handed Southeastern (9-7, 2-1) its first conference loss of the season while snapping the Lions' overall three-game winning streak.

    Sophomore forward Moses Greenwood finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for Southeastern. Junior guard Davon Hayes added 11 points. Junior guard Jabbar Singleton had five assists while sophomore guard Marlain Veal had three steals to go with eight points. Senior center Dominic Nelson blocked three shots. Southeastern shot 37.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded HBU 41-36.

    Colter Lasher also had 22 points to lead the Huskies. Josh Ibarra had 16 points and eight rebounds, tying Atif Russell for the team high. Braxton Bonds contributed 11 points and Alex Fountain 10. HBU shot 45.8 percent from the field.

    Southeastern trailed 67-55 with 4:14 left and were behind 71-61 after Reveal Chukwujekwu hit two free throws with 2:38 left. But a pair of layups by Veal, a 3-pointer by junior forward Eddy Polanco and a Greenwood layup cut the deficit to 74-70 with 41 seconds left. But the Lions could not get any closer as Chukwujekwu, Lasher and Fountain all hit a pair of free throws down the stretch.

    After the Huskies went ahead 43-32 on an Ibarra layup to open the second half, Southeastern trimmed the deficit to 45-40 on a Currington putback with 15:13 left. An Ibarra jumper from the left baseline extended the lead back to 49-40 with 13:18 remaining.

    The Lions again battled back, getting to within 51-46 with 10:33 left as Veal hit a jumper, then found Greenwood inside. But Lasher rattled in a 3 from the top of the key as the Huskies went back up 57-48 at the 7:47 mark.

    Southeastern would get as close as 61-55 on two Currington free throws with 4:56 left. But Will Gates Jr. scored off a Bonds steal to start a 6-0 run that gave HBU its biggest lead at 67-55 with 4:14 remaining.

    Southeastern and HBU traded baskets early with the Lions taking a 9-8 lead on a three-point play by Hayes at the 15:31 mark. The Huskies responded with a 5-0 run to take a 13-9 lead on a 3 by Chukwujekwu with 14:32 left.

    Southeastern tied it for the final time at 13 on a putback by Greenwood with 12:37 remaining. HBU scored eight straight points over the next 2:01, taking a 21-13 lead at the 10:36 mark. The Lions closed to within 26-22 on a putback and two free throws by Currington. But the Huskies used another 5-0 run to go up 31-22 on a Bonds putback with 6:33 left.

    A breakaway layup by sophomore guard Dimi Cook and a Greenwood jumper cut the deficit to 35-30 at the 2:59 mark. But Fountain hit a jumper from the left wing and Lasher added a layup as HBU took a 41-32 lead into the half.

    Southeastern remains on the road to play at Lamar on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.