LUBBOCK, Texas (January 3, 2015) – Lubbock Christian led the entire first half against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology before relinquishing a one-point lead at halftime after a 10-0 run by SDSMT following the break before falling 81-73 to the Hardrockers on a wintry Saturday afternoon at the Rip Griffin Center, breaking the Chaps three-game win stretch.

A.J. Luckey registered a team-high 20 points, and Isaac Cardona totaled 15 points and a team-best six rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks. Although the Chaps totaled 22 steals against the Hardrockers which equated to 25 points off turnovers, SDSMT outrebounded LCU 35-26 and drained 17 more free throws.

The Chaps (5-4), coming off of two Heartland Conference wins before the break, built an early 16-5 lead within the first six minutes of the contest led by 11 Luckey points before the Hardrockers (4-12), playing in their fourth game within five days, closed the gap to within one, 34-33, at the half.

SDSMT opened the second stanza with two three-pointers by Philip Schanilec, a jumper by Travis Schock and a pair of free throws by Konor Kulas to string together a 10-0 run until a reverse layup by Cardona recorded the first Chap points following intermission.

A strong take by Marcus Arrington, who recorded a career and game-high 10 assists, and a three-point play by Cardona sliced the Hardrocker lead to 45-41 with just under 13 minutes to play. The Chaps then closed within three points on a putback by Ridrell Holman at the 11:09 mark.

A defensive hustle rebound by Luckey led to a Matthew Alford bucket on the other end to knot the game at 55-all, but the Hardrockers responded with an 11-1 spurt to jump ahead 66-55 with 4:40 to play.

A three-pointer by John Lewis cut the lead to 77-72 with 40 seconds left on the clock, but the Chaps were unable to connect on a free throw, a three-pointer and a jumper within the same possession, allowing SDSMT to hit one-of-two from the line to make it a two-possession game at 78-72 with 26 seconds remaining.

A layup and free throw by Schanilec, who scored 17 points above his season average of seven, put SDSMT up eight within the final 14 seconds sealed the game and win for the Hardrockers, giving them their third NCAA Division II road victory in school history.

For SDSMT, Schanilec scored a game-high 24 points, and Kulas tallied 23.

The Chaps get back into Heartland Conference action on Monday, hosting Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on FOX 34 News NOW.