SAN ANTONIO, Texas (December 31, 2016) - Lubbock Christian University squared off with St. Mary's University in a Heartland Conference bout that featured the Chaparrals lowest scoring performance of the season. The Chaps shot 30.8% (16/52) in a 70-55 loss to the Rattlers.
 
Junior Marcos Schuster led LCU with 13 points, scoring 12 of the points in the final 3:58 of the game. Brennen Fowler added 10 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. The Chaparrals also shot a mere 25% from behind the arc to match a season low with four total three-pointers in the contest.
 
LCU went the opening 12 minutes of the game with just nine points, and hit an offensive pulse with Brennen Fowler connecting on a jumper with 7:37 left in the first period. Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath drained LCU's lone three-pointer of the half and cut the St. Mary's lead to 24-15. The Rattlers responded quickly, with Freddie Williams answering with a trey to restore a 12-point lead for St. Mary's. The Rattlers never really let LCU gain any ground before the break and a pair of free throws by Robbie Benavides gave StMU a 29-17 lead over the Chaparrals at halftime.
 
Lubbock Christian's 17 first half points marks their lowest first period scoring performance since joining the NCAA. St. Mary's did not experience the same first half woes as they shot 42.3% (11/26) from the field. The comparisons between the teams was spread fairly even, as each squad committed nine first half turnovers. LCU outrebounded the Rattlers in the first period, but only by a small margin of 20-19. It all came down to the Chaps not being able to put the ball in the bucket as they shot 20% (5/25) from the field and 1-of-8 (12.5%) from three-point land.
 
St. Mary's came back from halftime and continued to shoot well. A three-pointer by Cameron Horning opened up the Rattler's lead to 14 points at 38-24 with 16:44 left in the contest. Isaac Cardona helped kick off an 11-0 run to close StMU's lead to 38-35 with 13:10 left in the contest. A Yanni Wetzell tip-in helped St. Mary's open their lead back up to 55-41 with five minutes left to play. From that point on, the damage was done and the Rattlers maintained a comfortable lead until a final layup by Will Ferguson gave StMU the 70-55 victory and their first win in Heartland play.
 
The Chaps shot much better in the second half as they recorded 40.7% (11-27) from the field and 37.5% (3/8) from the three-point line. LCU also tacked on 13 second half free throws on 16 attempts for an 81.3% free throw percentage. Marcos Schuster exploded at the end of the game and picked up all three of LCU's second half treys. Schuster's 12 points in the final four minutes gave the Chaps some life, but St. Mary's lead proved to be too much.
 
The Rattlers improved upon their first half performance by shooting 56.5% (13/23) and 68.8% (11/16) from the charity stripe. St. Mary's outscored the Chaps 18-16 in second half paint points.
 
LCU's loss to St. Mary's is the first since the 2014-15 season when the Chaps were defeated 66-63 (2/26/15) in San Antonio. The loss also marks the fifth time this season that Lubbock Christian has been able to outrebound an opponent and still suffer defeat. Heading into the matchup, St. Mary's allowed an average of 75.3 points per game. With the win, StMU now owns a 5-4 all-time series advantage over LCU.
 
The loss drops Lubbock Christian to a 7-5 overall record and a 1-1 record in conference play. The Chaps will now look ahead to their tilt with Texas A&M International on Jan. 2. Tip off will be at 7:30 p.m. inside the Dustdevil's Kinesiology and Convocation Building in Laredo, Texas.