WICHITA, Kan. (January 8, 2015) – Matthew Alford's first career double-double in addition to a near perfect shooting night from the free throw line by Lubbock Christian gave the Chaps a 76-69 win over Newman Thursday night at Fugate Gymnasium, leaving LCU as the only team remaining in the Heartland Conference with an unblemished record.

Alford's game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds were also a career best. A.J. Luckey was 11-of-11 from the free throw line on his way to 18 points, and Isaac Cardona scored 16. The Chaps (7-4, 4-0 Heartland) went an impressive 26-of-28 from the charity stripe, including 24-of-26 after halftime. A loss by No. 15 St. Edward's (4-1 Heartland) to Texas-Permian Basin tonight places LCU in sole possession of first place in the league.

Perhaps Alford's biggest plays of the evening occurred within the final three minutes of the contest with the Chaps clinging to a 65-63 lead over the Jets (5-6, 1-4 Heartland). Off of a Luckey miss, Alford corralled the offensive board and drew the foul to double LCU's to four. The ensuing free throw resulted in a rare miss and gave the Jets an opportunity for a pair which Ryan McCarthy converted on the other end to slice the Chap lead to 67-65 with 2:15 left on the clock. On the next trip down the floor, Alford put the ball through the hoop as the shot clock expired and hit the floor hard to put him at the line once again. His successful free throw put LCU ahead, 70-65, with 1:38 to go. 

NU's Reggie Baker hit two freebies to make it a one possession game, and Luckey lost his dribble on the next possession, but the Jets were unable to capitalize, missing a three-pointer. The Chaps then closed out the contest by draining their final six free throws.

The game began with Cardona putting on a clinic, scoring 10 points within the first four minutes which included the Chaps first eight points. The game stayed extremely close until LCU put together an 8-0 run to scoot ahead 36-25 at the break. The start of the second half did not go in LCU's favor, as the team went a combined 3-of-13 during the next eight minutes to allow the Jets to close within 47-45 with just until twelve minutes remaining.

The Chaps earned the win despite committing a season-high 20 turnovers, with resulted in 20 Jet points off of miscues, but outrebounded NU 47-to-27.

For the Jets, Baker registered 19 points, James Pegues had 14, Cortrael Colbert tallied 13, Jeremy Espinoza contributed 11 and McCarthy added 10.

The Chaps finish their first conference road trip of the season Saturday at Oklahoma Christian at 3 p.m.