SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (November 26, 2016) – Lubbock Christian University wrapped up their regular season tournament play in a battle against No. 17 Washburn University Saturday morning. LCU's Isaac Cardona and Brennen Fowler tossed up some late game heroics, as LCU was rallying from a 10-point deficit with 2:03 remaining, but the Ichabods of Washburn University held off the Chaps 65-63 in the Puerto Rico Clasico.
 
The loss puts the Chaparrals at a 5-3 on the year and 1-1 in games away from home. Isaac Cardona had a field day as he led LCU with 13-points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block. Freshman Jay Workman came off of the bench to add 12 points of his own for the Chaps, while Brennen Fowler picked up his fifth double-double of the year with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Washburn's offense was firing on all cylinders as five different players scored to give the Ichabods a 13-2 lead early in the first half. Freshman Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath nailed a three-pointer to disrupt the Washburn lead and kick off a 9-0 streak for the Chaparrals. Washburn's Cameron Wiggins drained back-to-back three-pointers to help Washburn bounce back to 29-19 lead with 4:55 left in the half. Once again, Lubbock Christian pounded away and ultimately took the lead 32-29 at the break.
 
Workman was LCU's key in the first half, as he came off of the bench and knocked down all three of his shot attempts from the field. Gilbreath also added seven points off of the bench on 2-of-4 shooting and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe. Fowler and Cardona combined for 11 boards to give the Chaps a 24-16 edge over the Ichabods at the half.
 
LCU's offense remained diligent and opened up their lead to an eight-point advantage, 39-31, thanks to a Workman three-pointer just two minutes into the second half. Lubbock Christian kept things tight with Washburn as the lead was traded two more times. However, with just under 12:00 minutes left, Brady Skeens knocked down a mid-range jumper to give the Ichabods their final lead of the contest. Washburn proceeded to go on a 13-0 tear to widen their advantage to 56-46, their largest lead of the half.  With 59 seconds left to play, the Chaps began attacking the lane and scored 8-of-11 points in the paint to pull within five, 62-57. Cardona and Fowler each drained a three-pointer to cut the Ichabod lead to 64-63 with five seconds to play. LCU was forced to foul and Washburn's Javion Blake hit a go-ahead free throw to hand the Ichabods a 65-63 victory.
 
The loss brings the Chaps record against ranked opponents to 1-2 for the season. Despite shooting 45% (5-11) from behind the arc, LCU was unable to capitalize at the stripe, as the Chaparrals went 0-1 from the free throw line in the second half. Washburn's second half attack was very well balanced as they shot 14-29 (48%) from the field, 3-7 (45%) from downtown and 5-9 (55%) from the free throw line. Lubbock Christian finished the game outscoring the Ichabods 20-9 in second chance points. The Chap bench came up huge as they outscored Washburn's bench 34-10.
 
Lubbock Christian will have plenty of time to recover as they resume play on Dec. 10 against Cameron University. Tip off will be at 7:00 pm in Lawton, Okla. where the Chaps look to improve upon their 5-3 record.