AUSTIN, Texas (January 24, 2015) – A.J. Luckey's last second baseline jumper fell short against St. Edwards on Saturday afternoon at the Recreation and Convocation Center, allowing the Hilltoppers to squeak past Lubbock Christian 67-65 and take sole possession of first place within the Heartland Conference.  

Heading into the showdown, LCU (10-7, 7-3 Heartland) and SEU (16-2, 8-2 Heartland) sat tied atop the standings with identical 7-2 records after the Chaps had moved Texas-Permian Basin into second place following a 64-63 Chap overtime victory Thursday night in Odessa.

The Chaps were hoping Luckey could add to his game-high 18 points and come through with another game-winner as he had against the Falcons two days prior, but his 12-footer hit the front of the rim as time expired. The final 66 seconds of the game were quite intense, with Matthew Alford connecting on a scoop shot off of the glass as he was hammered by a Hilltopper defender, sending him to the free throw line. His shot was off the mark, giving SEU a chance to tie or take the lead. Alford was then whistled for a foul against St. Edward's Ramir Burton, sending him to the line for two shots. Burton calmly drained both attempts with 49 seconds to play.

The Chaps ran the clock down, and Isaac Cardona drew contact on a shot in the paint but was blocked and the ball was corralled by SEU's Jae Ricketts. Marcus Arrington committed a foul on Burton, sending him to the line for another pair which he once again converted, putting the Hilltoppers up two with 19 seconds on the clock. Following a timeout by SEU, Luckey made his move to the hoop, but his shot attempt was unsuccessful as the ball flung out of bounds. The baseline official initially adamantly ruled the possession in favor of St. Edward's, but after much debate, the other two officials reviewed the play on the monitor and indicated it was LCU's ball with 2.3 seconds remaining, setting up Luckey's final attempt.

The Chaps never led during the first half, trailing by as much as nine, but cut the deficit to 37-31 before the break. Ten seconds into the second stanza, Cardona converted a three-point play to slash the deficit in half. LCU took their first lead at the 15:41 mark on a pair of Luckey free throws, and two buckets by Cardona and an Alford free throw gave the Chaps their biggest advantage at 59-52 with 6:19 to play. The Hilltoppers stormed back with consecutive three-pointers to take a 63-61 lead heading into the final two minutes.

The Chaps were held the entire 40 minutes without a three-pointer and finished 26-of-31 from the free throw line. Cardona totaled 17 points in the loss while Arrington added 11 and Ridrell Holman tied a career-high with seven rebounds.

For SEU, Burton scored a team-high 16 points.

The Chaps return home to host Oklahoma Panhandle State Thursday at 8 p.m.