LUBBOCK, Texas (November 21, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University men's basketball cruised to a 79-65 win inside Rip Griffin Center Tuesday night over Sul Ross State University closing out their second consecutive night of play. Once again, Isaac Asrat led the Chaps scoring 23 points marking his third straight game with 20 or more points. In total, four Chaparral players tallied double-scoring figures. Kentton Williams and Brennen Fowler were each two rebounds shy of posting double-doubles. The win gives Lubbock Christian a 2-0 record at home this season.
 
The Lobos night started off on the wrong foot as head coach Clif Carroll's team was charged with a technical foul in the pregame for failing to provide his starting lineup at the appropriate time. With the foul enforced, Isaac Asrat stepped up and knocked down a free throw putting the Chaps up 1-0 before the opening tipoff. LCU then drained their next two buckets taking a 5-0 lead within the first 50 seconds of regulation. Sul Ross came right back and ultimately took an 11-10 lead after Caleb Thomasson split a pair of free throws at the 16:20 mark. SRSU's lead was short-lived as Marcos Schuster hit back-to-back jumpers to regain the lead for the Chaps 40 seconds later. Williams capped off a 10-2 run for the Chaparrals with a layup at the 13:12 mark. Stephen Walker cut the LCU lead to five with a layup for Sul Ross, but that would be as close as the Lobos would get for the remainder of the half. A three-pointer by Asrat gave the Chaps their largest lead of the half, 32-15, before closing out the period with a 13-point advantage at 42-29.
 
Lubbock Christian outscored the Lobos from inside the paint in the opening period by an 18-6 margin. Asrat led LCU with 18 points in the half 6-of-10 shooting and 3-for-5 from three-point range. As a team, the Chaps notched a 58.6% (17-of-29) field goal average in the period. Brennen Fowler picked up 5 rebounds to help Lubbock Christian edge out the Lobos 18-14 on the glass.
 
Sul Ross State scored their first five points of the second period from the free throw line. Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath was there for LCU to break up the Lobo's free throw efforts with a pair of three-pointers that extended the lead for the Chaparrals. With 14:56 left to play, Gilbreath knocked down one more triple to give the Chaps a 23-point lead at 59-36. SRSU would get as close as a 13-points following a three-pointer by Tristen Licon. The Chaparrals kept the Lobos at bay and closed out the game with a 79-65 victory that contained no lead changes within the second period.
 
Gilbreath was a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown in the second half and led the Chaparrals with nine points and five rebounds in the period. LCU did a majority of their work from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes knocking down 17-of-22 attempts from the charity stripe for a 77.3% average. Four of Lubbock Christian's eight second half field goals came from behind the arc.
 
There were three technical fouls given throughout the game, two of which were awarded to Sul Ross State. Lubbock Christian University finished the day shooting 22-for-28 from the charity stripe and 46.3% (25-of-54) from the field. Asrat's 23 points proved to be a game high performance and led four Chaparral double-figure scorers. Schuster (16 points), Williams (14 points) and Brennen Fowler (12 points) helped lead LCU's efforts on the offensive end. Williams added eight rebounds while dishing out four assists.
 
Lubbock Christian's win moves them to a 2-3 record on the season heading into the thanksgiving break. The Chaps will play again this Friday in the Angelo State Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Angelo State University. The tournament will be hosted in San Angelo, Texas at ASU's Junell Center inside Stephens Arena. LCU will open up the tournament by taking on Texas A&M Commerce Friday, Nov. 24 at 5:30 p.m.