Art Bernardi scored 21 points and Tyler Russell had 20 as Houston Baptist defeated Dallas Christian 82-73 Saturday night.
Bernardi added seven rebounds and Russell had five assists for the Huskies (3-1), who shot 51 percent from the floor.
Dallas Christian (1-7), a school in the National Christian College Athletic Association, got 23 points and seven rebounds from Chad Herring. Malcolm McCarty added 17 points and Max Berman had 14.
In a close game throughout, Houston Baptist used a 12-0 run to go ahead 18-12 midway through the first half. Dallas Christian pulled within 39-37 at halftime and was still within three points when Will Mason hit a bucket to make it 65-62 with 8:29 remaining.
The Huskies used a 7-1 run to pull ahead 72-63 with 6:45 left, and Dallas Christian never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
