Russell comes up big, propels Huskies to sweep of Bearkats

Once Atif Russell appeared on the court, things quickly improved for Houston Baptist.

Russell, whose role is to come off the bench, played the final nine minutes in the first half Thursday night against Sam Houston State. It was enough playing time to swing the momentum that carried over the remainder of the game.

Sparked by Russell’s 18 points in only 18 minutes, HBU completed a season sweep of Sam Houston State, beating the Bearkats 88-77 at Sharp Gym.

“My job is to be a spark off the bench,” said Russell, who was 7-of-9 from the floor and had three assists. “Whenever we need it, I come in and put the ball in the hole and defend.

“Coming off the bench is fine with me as long as I can come in aggressive and help us win. That’s fun.”

The win was the fourth straight for HBU (12-12, 8-6 Southland Conference), which led 42-35 at halftime because of a 13-0 run ignited by Russell and Braxton Bonds, a nephew of former baseball star Barry Bonds, who collected 18 points.

Sam Houston State (18-9, 9-5), which entered Thursday second in the Southland, has lost three of its last four games.

The Bearkats were without 6-8 center Aurimas Majauskas, who is out with a strained hamstring.

“We’re in a little funk, and missing Aurimas Majauskas tonight was a huge key,” coach Jason Hooten said.

“We just didn’t execute the way we needed to. It takes a lot out of you to get from 19 (down) to four. We were out of juice a little bit.”

HBU led 61-42 with 12:35 remaining, but that advantage dwindled to four points. The Bearkats closed to 63-59 with 9:25 left, following a 3-pointer by Albert Almanza, but HBU held on from there.

John Dewey led the Bearkats with 14 points.

HBU defeated Sam Houston 76-65 in Huntsville in late December to open its conference season.

“We beat them at their place; that was a big momentum boost heading into the conference season,” HBU coach Ron Cottrell said. “We went through a rough patch, but we’ve played better as late, and anytime you can beat Sam, it’s big for your program.”

Russell, a Seven Lakes product, ignited the 13-0 run late in the first half that saw the Huskies turn a 2725 deficit into a 38-27 lead at the 2:12 mark.

Russell gave HBU a 3027 lead on a 3-pointer. He followed with a layup and then two made free throws before adding another basket. Cody Stetler’s basket pushed HBU’s lead to 11.