LUBBOCK, Texas (February 27, 2016) – In his final game inside the Rip Griffin Center, A.J. Luckey drilled a three-pointer with two minutes left in regulation to force an overtime period between Lubbock Christian University and Texas A&M International Saturday afternoon as the Chaparrals hung on for a 90-79 victory to notch their sixth 20-win season in program history.

Fittingly on Senior Day, Luckey’s three to tie the game at 74-74 was his biggest bucket of the contest amongst his game-high 27 points, 23 of which were scored after halftime. Brennen Fowler kept his double-double streak alive at six with his 16 points and game-high 13 rebounds along with five blocked shots while Tyler Rogers and Ridrell Holman provided 13 and 11 points, respectively, off of the bench. As a team, LCU shot and attempted season-highs in free throws with a 37-of-50 performance from the line.

Overtime did not seem to be a viable option with less than six minutes to play and the Chaps trailing 67-55, but Holman felt otherwise by tearing off eight straight LCU points on two jumpers and four free throws in less than three minutes to pull the Chaps to within 70-63. A foul shot by Luckey made it a one-possession game at 70-67 with 1:15 remaining before the teams traded shots at the line to give TAMIU (18-9, 13-6 Heartland) a three-point edge with 24 seconds to play. Fowler lessened the margin to a mere point with 15 ticks on the clock, but a foul was called on the Chaps and Dustdevil Jake Eynon converted the double bonus for a 74-71 advantage. On the next trip down the floor, Luckey shook his defender just enough to fire off a three from the right wing that dropped through the net to force an extra five minutes.

Halfway through overtime, a layup by Luckey put LCU (20-8, 14-6 Heartland) on top at 80-78, and Rogers doubled the lead with a pair of free throws. An offensive foul was whistled on the Dustdevils, causing head coach Bryan Weakley to warrant two technical fouls and a subsequent ejection with under two minutes to play. Luckey drained the four technical free throws to give the Chaps an 86-78 lead before a score by Rogers and two more from the line by Luckey solidified the win.

The Dustdevils began the contest with vigor and jumped to a 13-3 lead within three-and-a-half minutes until the LCU steadily clawed back to within 16-14 on a layup by the other Chap senior, Matthew Alford. Seven consecutive points by TAMIU pushed the lead to nine, but LCU whittled the margin to 32-28 heading into halftime.

Following a field goal to open the second half by Dustdevil Arkeem Joseph, the squads stayed within three points of one another for the next 10 minutes. However, TAMIU wound up playing without the assistance of Joseph the remainder of the game after he threw an elbow to the back of the head of an unsuspecting Fowler during a free throw and was tossed.

The Dustdevils pulled ahead, 50-49, on two foul shots by Anthony Alston at the 11:31 mark and slowly increased their advantage to six on three occasions and stretched it to 11 and then 12 before Holman pieced together his run to give the Chaps their much needed momentum.

Today’s win guarantees the Chaps at least the third seed heading into next week’s conference tournament in Tulsa, slated to begin on Friday. Dependent on Monday’s matchup of Rogers State at Dallas Baptist, LCU could slide into the second slot.

Courtesy: LCU Sports Information Department