ODESSA, Texas (February 20, 2016) – A career day by Lubbock Christian University's Brennen Fowler was overshadowed in an 85-84 overtime loss to University of Texas of the Permian Basin where the freshman registered 35 points and 11 rebounds Saturday afternoon inside the Falcon Dome.
 
The Chaps (18-8, 12-6 Heartland) played without starter Marcos Schuster who fell ill and competed with a hindered Isaac Cardona who was also battling a stomach bug. Fowler's career-high comes one day short of a year in which A.J. Luckey put 36 points to the Falcons during the 2014-15 season. The Smyer native collected his third straight double-double by hitting 13-of-15 from the field and shooting a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line in the narrow defeat.
 
This loss is of consequence to the Chaps as it drops them from second place in the conference standings into a two-way tie for third with Texas A&M International, who is coming off of a double overtime victory against first place Dallas Baptist. DBU (13-4) sits a half-game ahead of Arkansas-From Smith and Rogers State who are both at 13-5.
 
After being outscored 47-33 within the first 18 minutes of the second half, Luckey found Fowler in the paint for a 77-74 lead with 17 seconds remaining in the contest, prompting UTPB (14-12, 9-9 Heartland) to call a timeout to set up a final play. Two Falcons crossed at the top of the key as Johnnie Lacy let a shot fly and drained his fourth three on the day to knot the game at 77-all. An attempted drive by Luckey was off the mark to extend the game another five minutes.
 
LCU opened the extra period with a pair from the line by Luckey and shot in the lane by Fowler for a four-point advantage. Lacy's fifth and six three on the afternoon sandwiched a hook shot by Fowler to again tie the contest, 83-83. Tyler Rogers was fouled and hit one-of-two from the line with 1:34 to play for a one-point Chap edge until UTPB took the lead back on a jumper by Daniel Vandivort 17 seconds later. Ridrell Holman's three-point attempts rolled in and out, but Holman secured a steal to give LCU another opportunity with 13 seconds on the clock. Luckey again drove the lane to create contact but was unable to convert in the waning moments.
 
During the first half, a hook shot from the right baseline by Fowler gave the Chaps their first double-digit lead at 33-22 with just over six minutes to go until halftime. Consecutive buckets by Rogers, Michael Grant and Holman pushed LCU in front at 39-22, the largest margin of the game. Matthew Alford made his first appearance in over two weeks since recovering from an injury to reel in two rebounds and hit a free throw before the break to give the Chaps a 42-27.
 
Two shots from the foul line by Marcus Arrington put LCU up 66-54, but Lacy was there to connect on a pair from beyond the arc to pull the Falcons to within eight. UTPB's Sam Stirgus joined in on the three-point barrage to cut the deficit to 68-63 with under six minutes to play. A jumper by Falcon Codye Hatcher whittled the margin to five a minute later before Lacy came through with another dagger from deep for a one-possession game. Grant connected on one-of-two from the line before Stirgus drilled a jumper for a 73-72 game in favor of the Chaps. Each team made two free throws and but remained scoreless until Fowler made his shot with 17 seconds to go up three.
 
For LCU, Holman scored a dozen points and Lucked added 10.
 
For UTPB, Lacy had a team-high 21 points and Hatcher recorded 19.
 
The Chaps close out regular season play next week at home facing St. Mary's Thursday at 6 p.m. and Texas A&M International Saturday at 2 p.m.