An overtime win at Wake Forest highlighted Houston Baptist’s non-conference schedule a year ago. A late-season push got the Huskies into the Southland Conference Tournament, where they lost by only two points to Lamar in the first round to end their season.

There’s plenty to build on for HBU, which returns all-conference selection Ian DuBose. For the Huskies to make the leap from an 8-10 SLC team to a winning one, role players from a year ago have to come through, as well as freshman point guard Myles Pierre.

“We got a lot of role players that got to step up in major roles,” said Ron Cottrell, in his 28th season leading the Huskies. “We got a lot of guys that got experience last year, Qon Murphy, Philip McKenzie, Jackson Stent and Ty Dalton, but they were in roles. They’re going to have to be more relied upon to play bigger parts.”

Dalton started the final 13 games and solidified himself as a starting forward. A year after averaging eight points and four rebounds, the 6-foot-4 junior will be asked to do more.

Jalon Gates also is expected to expand his game. The 6-foot senior guard has been the sharp shooter off the bench, averaging 8.8 points in HBU’s 12-18 season. At 6-foot-8, Stent plays multiple positions and provides depth up front.

A player that Cottrell can count on is DuBose, the team’s leading scorer (17.0), who added 5.9 rebounds per game with 103 assists. The 6-foot-4 junior lost 15 pounds over the offseason and his versatility makes him one of the conference’s top players.

“He’s not going to overwhelm you in any area,” Cottrell said. “He doesn’t look like the most athletic guy in the world, but he’s a good athlete. He doesn’t look like the strongest guy, but he’s strong. He can handle the ball against pressure, he can get to the rim and finish. He can shoot from the perimeter.” 

One of six players with North Carolina connections, Pierre (6-foot-2) is freshman-ready with a college body according to Cottrell. Pierre scored more than a 1,000 points in high school, playing on back-to-back state championship teams his final two years.

HBU has added size on the wing with the addition of 6-foot-5 Hunter Janacek, a junior transfer from Angelina (Tex.) College.

Ryan Gomes, 6-foot-10, who sat out last season after spending two seasons at Mount Saint Mary’s (Md.), is the projected starting center and expected to carry a heavy load. In the rotation at post are 6-foot-9 freshman Zach Iyeyemi, a big body with skill sets, and 6-foot-7 sophomore Benjamin Uloko, who averaged 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds while making three starts.

“We’re bigger, we got a lot more athletes,” DuBose said. “We got some 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8 guys who can run and jump, dunk. Our talent level has increased. My role has stepped up, becoming a leader.”

A point of emphasis for the Huskies is improvement on defense. Last season, the Huskies’ 82.2 points average led the Southland, but the Huskies were last in the league in field-goal percentage defense at .491 percent.

Preseason MVP: Ian DuBose
An All-Southland performer, DuBose averaged a team-high 17.0 points with 5.9 rebounds and 103 assists. The 6-4 versatile junior will likely play more shooting guard than small forward this season and is a difficult matchup for opponents.

Game of the Year: Sam Houston State at HBU, Sharp Gym, Jan. 18, 7 p.m.
The last time these teams played, league champion Sam Houston won 119-113 in double overtime.

Impact First-Year Player:
Myles Pierre