Chaps Upset Bid Comes Up Short in 72-67 Loss to WT

LUBBOCK, Texas (February 6, 2020) – Although much of the second half was played as just a one or two possession game, Lubbock Christian’s men’s basketball team could never quite get over the hump and take a lead, losing to No. 3 West Texas A&M 72-67.

LCU held the offensive juggernaut WT to just 40.7 percent shooting from the field during the game (24-59), but 15 of those made shots were from behind the arc, where the Buffs shot slightly better at 51.7 percent. The three-pointers proved to be the difference, as the Chaps shot just 24 percent from behind the arc (6-25). The Chaps made seven more two-pointers than the Buffs, but WT’s advantage in three-pointers kept them on top.

Nearly all of Lubbock Christian’s made three-pointers came from Silas Crisler, who hit four on eight attempts in 23 minutes on the floor. Crisler was plus-eight during his time on the floor, making him one of only two Chaps (Parker Hicks, +5) to have a positive plus/minus. Hicks was a major force on the defensive end, setting a new career-high with four blocks in the game, while also scoring 10 points. The Chaps as a team blocked seven shots. The last time they had more blocks in one game was December 15, 2018 against Cameron, when they had 11.

Lloyd Daniels led the team in scoring for the fifth straight game, scoring 17 points, seven of which came at the free throw line. He also added in six rebounds. Rashaan Proctor scored 11 points on 3-6 shooting.

West Texas A&M was hot to start the game, hitting four of their first five shots, including three from behind the arc. The strong three-point shooting continued throughout the first half for the Buffs, when they hit 10 of their 15 total three-pointers. The hottest hand from behind the arc for the Buffs was surprisingly Eric Mosley. The guard was shooting 30.3 percent on three-pointers prior to the game, but hit five of 10 against the Chaps.

Joel Murray led the Buffs in scoring with 23 points on 7-17 shooting, including 3-10 from behind the arc. LCU was able to hold the LSC’s leading scorer, Qua Grant, to just six points in the loss. It was Grant’s lowest scoring total this season. The last time Grant scored fewer than six points was also against Lubbock Christian, on December 6, 2018, when the Chaps beat the Buffs 68-65 in the Rip Griffin Center.

The Buffs shot 43.8 percent in the first half, but held the Chaps to 32.26 percent shooting, as the two teams went into the locker room with West Texas A&M up by nine.

In the second half, LCU shot much better at 42 percent, and the Chap defense locked down WT, even holding them scoreless for just over six minutes. The Chaps pulled as close as one point at the 8:36 mark, when Crisler hit one of his three-pointers. They were still down by one point six minutes later after a jumper by Proctor set up a tense final two minutes.
Jon’il Fugget hit a jumper to keep the Chaps at bay and Joel Murray hit the dagger with a three-pointer from NBA range with 26 seconds to go.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Lubbock Christian’s 37.3 percent shooting was their second-worst performance of the season, only better than their 28.1 percent shooting against Colorado School of Mines.

NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will host Eastern New Mexico at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Rip Griffin Center. The Chaps beat the Greyhounds 62-60 when the two teams faced off in Portales earlier this year.