LAREDO, Texas (February 28, 2015) – This 2014-15 season concluded as most do not, as Lubbock Christian recorded a win to complete their schedule, defeating Texas A&M International in which the Chaps withstood a 26-4 run by the Dustdevils after leading by as many as 26 in the second half, aided by a career-high 26 points from Isaac Cardona.
The Chaps (16-11, 13-7 Heartland) finalized their last year of postseason ineligibility by finishing no worse than third place within the 11-team Heartland Conference, with three teams still waiting to finish out their slates, matching LCU's placing during the 2013-14 season.
LCU made an early statement against the Dustdevils (12-16, 7-13) by cruising to a 20-8 lead less than 15 minutes into the contest, capped by a 14-0 scoring burst that included points from four different Chaps. TAMIU closed to within 17 on a layup and jumper by Anthony Alston with under two minutes before the break, but Cardona received a shovel pass from Beau Durham inside the paint for a layup, and Cardona returned the favor to Ridrell Holman on a touch pass from the post to the left baseline for a three-pointer to put the Chaps up 41-21 at the half.
Buckets by Matthew Alford, Cardona and Durham opened the second half to balloon the Chap lead to 47-21 in two minutes. A three-pointer by Holman at the 8:32 mark kept LCU seemingly in control at 66-41, but the Dustdevils began chipping away at the lead, whittling it down to under twenty in less than a minute. A steal and layup by Alston, a jumper by William Wise and a three-pointer by Alston pulled TAMIU to within 66-53 with just over six minutes to play.
A Cardona basket with 6:02 on the clock proved to be the final Chap field goal of the contest, as the Dustdevils were in the midst of an incredible run. Missed free throws, layups and turnovers plagued LCU, allowing TAMIU close the gap to under 10 with 3:49 remaining.
As the Chaps were advancing the ball upcourt, A.J. Luckey jumped to corral a pass while colliding with a Dustdevil defender and the foul went against Luckey, putting the Chaps' leading scorer on the bench with five fouls. TAMIU converted the double bonus free throws, slicing LCU's lead to 68-61. Back-to-back threes by Terrell Funches made it a one-possession game at 70-67 with 1:14 on the clock.
Alford missed the front end of a one-and-one but redeemed himself by reeling in a defensive board while being fouled to send him to the line once again, and this time he sank both free shots to give the Chaps a five-point cushion with 67 seconds on the clock. Marcus Arrington forced on traveling violation on TAMIU, but a turnover by Marcos Schuster gave the Dustdevils another opportunity. A pair of Funches three-pointers were off the mark, and Cardona sprawled to the foul while chasing down the rebound as a Dustdevil was whistled for the foul on Cardona, sending him to the line for a pair. Both shots found their way through the net to put the Chaps up 74-67, and that remained the ending result throughout the final 26 seconds.
Holman tallied 13 points for LCU while Schuster add 11, and Luckey tied a career-high with eight rebounds.
For TAMIU, Alston scored a game-high 27 points.
The Chaps do not lose any players to graduation as they hope to begin the NCAA Division II era next season and fight for a chance to continue their 2015-16 schedule throughout the postseason.
