SAN ANTONIO, Texas (February 26, 2015) – Lubbock Christian fell out of contention to win at least a share of what could have been their first Heartland Conference regular season title with a 66-63 loss to St. Mary's Thursday afternoon at Bill Greehey Arena and now will by vying for spot number two come their regular season finale on Saturday.
The Chaps (15-11, 12-7 Heartland) controlled their own destiny, needing a pair of wins during the last week of league play to grab a piece of the regular season championship, but were plagued by missed free throws, foul trouble and rebounding in the close contest that included seven ties and six lead changes.
Isaac Cardona scored 20 points and hauled in eight rebounds, while A.J. Luckey recorded 11 points and Marcos Schuster added 11, but the Chaps were unable to overcome a 12-for-20 performance at the line and giving up 18 offensive boards that led to 20 Rattler second chance points.
The first fifteen minutes of the contest saw neither team gross a lead larger than three before a baseline floater by Schuster and a drive from Cardona put the Chaps up 21-17. StMU's Bryce Smith then knocked down a trio of free throws after LCU was whistled for a foul on his shot attempt to cut the lead to one. Luckey and Cardona each hit a jumper to extend the advantage to five, and Schuster converted a shot in the paint for a 27-20 Chap edge. Rattler Isaiah Matthews connected on a shot with just over a minute remaining before Cardona drained a three-pointer to give LCU the largest lead of the game at 30-22 with 39 seconds before halftime.
A dunk by StMU's Justin Alexander at the 16:58 mark after the break ignited the Rattlers, cutting LCU's lead to 36-34. Three free throws along with a steal and layup by Marvin Whitt gave St. Mary's (17-9, 14-5 Heartland) their first lead since the 9:16 mark of the first half to go ahead 39-38. Schuster regained the advantage for LCU on a layup, but the Chaps were unable to convert another field goal until Matthew Alford put in a Cardona miss to pull LCU to within 46-44 with just under nine minutes left.
Three more shots from the charity stripe put the Rattlers up by five with seven minutes remaining in the contest, but a trio from Alford cut the deficit to 49-47 over the next 40 seconds. A nice move by Marcus Arrington in the paint made the score 56-54, but StMU' Marvin Binney came through with a dagger of a three-pointer, followed by an Alexander bucket to swell the Rattler lead to 61-54 with 2:12 left to play. The Chaps pieced together a 5-0 run on a Cardona basket and a three-pointer by Beau Durham from the top of the key to make it a one-possession game.
The Chaps closed the gap to a single point on two occasions, with the last occurring on a Luckey drive from half court, but Luckey was called for his fifth foul on the next trip down the floor, sending the Chaps' leading scorer to the bench. Binney made his free throws for a 66-63 Rattler lead, giving LCU 15 seconds to score, but the Chaps were unable connect, as St. Mary's earned the right to host the Heartland Conference tournament next week as the number-one seed.
The Chaps conclude the 2014-15 with a regular season contest at Texas A&M International Saturday at 3 p.m. Beginning next season, LCU will be able to compete in NCAA postseason play after undergoing a two-year probation while transitioning into NCAA Division II.
