LUBBOCK, Texas (November 17, 2016) – Brennen Fowler's (17 points, 13 rebounds) double-double spearheaded a group of six Chaparrals in double figures offensively, and Lubbock Christian University was able to hold off a 28-9 run to defeat No.16 West Texas A&M 95-86 Thursday evening in an emotion-filled and whistle-filled contest inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
WT came out with the hot-hand as they streaked to an early 7-0 lead within the first three minutes, until a three-pointer by LCU's Ridrell Holman cut into the Buffs lead. Tyler Rogers initiated a 13-3 run for Lubbock Christian to provide the games first and only lead change. With 6:45 left in the half, the West Texas A&M bench picked up the first of what would eventually four technical fouls for WT. LCU freshman Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath converted his first two free throws of the evening to put the Chaparrals up 31-16. LCU increased their lead to a sizable 24 points before a three-pointer by WTAMU's Jordan Evans cut the Chaps lead to 45-24 at halftime.
 
Lubbock Christian held the Buff's offense to 10-32 (31.3%) field goal shooting and a meager 3-16 (18.8%) from behind the arc at the break. David Chavlovich, who averages 18.6 points per game for the Buffaloes, was held to a mere five points at halftime. LCU drained 19-30 (63.3%) from the field with a pair of three-pointers from Gilbreath and Holman. Gilbreath was the only Chap in double-figures at the break with 11 points. Lubbock Christian finished the half a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line, with Gilbreath knocking down four of them due to WT's two technical fouls. The Chap bench also outscored the WT bench 24-5 in the first half.
 
Fowler got things going in the second half for the Chaps as he scored a quick layup to put LCU up 47-24. At the 17:12 mark, Skylar O'Laughlin picked up WT's third technical foul of the game and sent LCU's Gilbreath back to the charity stripe to split a pair of free throws and increased the Chap lead to 53-29. With just over 12-minutes left in the game, West Texas A&M picked up their fourth and final technical foul. The Class-A technical was the third technical directed towards the WT coaching staff and it resulted in the ejection of Buffs assistant coach Chris Gove and head coach Tom Brown. Again, Gilbreath knocked down both free throws to give the Chaps even more energy. A jumper by Holman at the 11:15 mark put Lubbock Christian up 70-43 for their largest lead of the game at 27-points.
 
WT's Chavlovich finally had enough as he scored 20 points on his own in the final eight minutes. Chavlovich knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Chap lead to 13-points with 4:34 left in regulation. Lubbock Christian traded points with the Buffs until WT's Jordan Evans drained his final three-pointer of the night to cut the LCU lead to 87-78. Things got even closer for the Chaps as another Chavlovich three-pointer cut Lubbock Christian's lead to 87-84 with 1:35 left to play. WT, forcing 12 turnovers in the game's final 7:30 (LCU had 13 turnovers in the game prior to that stretch), forced the Chaps 25th turnover with 1:18 remaining, but Jordan Evans missed the equalizing bucket. Fowler scored six of LCU's final eight points to close out the huge 95-86 upset over the No. 16 Buffaloes.
 
In total, there were 53 fouls called throughout the game with Lubbock Christian on the receiving end of 27. The teams combined for eight free-throw attempts in the first half and 53 attempts in the second half. The Chaps shot 25-30 from the free throw line and just over 61% percent (32-52) from the field. The Chaparrals also scored 40 points in the paint compared to WT's 26. WT, who shot just 31.3% (10/32) from the field, had a 27-16 scoring advantage off a 25-16 turnover advantage. The 25 turnovers by LCU was the most since they committed 35 on Nov. 6, 2012 against Our Lady of the Lake (LCU won both games).
 
There were six different Lubbock Christian players scoring in double figures, with Fowler co-leading the squad with Tyler Rogers (17 points). Gilbreath (14 points), Holman (12 points), Jay Workman (11 points) and Marcus Arrington (10 points) joined Fowler and Rogers. LCU's Holman and Workman each netted a pair of three-pointers to help the Chaps shoot 6-12 from behind the arc. Chavlovich led all scorers with 26 points for the Buffs, who also received 16 points from Joseph Prince, 15 points from Jordan Evans and 10 points from Skyler O'Laughlin. WT fell to 5-1 on the season with the loss.
 
The 2-2 Chaparrals will now focus on Saturday's early contest against Sul Ross State University. Tip off will be at 1 pm inside LCU's Rip Griffin Center.