DALLAS, Texas (November 30, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University opened up their Heartland Conference schedule Thursday evening in Dallas, Texas against No. 25 ranked Dallas Baptist University. Isaac Asrat and Kentton Williams led the Chaps with 19 points each, but LCU was unable to top the Patriots and ultimately fell by a final score of 88-74.
 
LCU jumped out to a quick 6-4 lead after a pair of three-pointers by Asrat and Williams to open up the game. The Chaps and the Patriots exchanged baskets for a total of nine lead changes within the opening six minutes of play. Lubbock Christian mounted a 10-2 scoring run that was bookended by three-pointers from Asrat. The run marked the Chaparral's largest lead of the game at 23-15 with 12:52 to play in the opening half. Boy Van Vliet was then able to spark a comeback for DBU with a jumper from inside the paint. The Patriots scored 11 unanswered points over a three-minute period and went into the halftime break with a 48-41 lead over the Chaparrals.
 
Despite going into the break with a deficit, Lubbock Christian was still able to outshoot the Patriots in the half with a 14-for-25 performance (56%) from the field. Asrat knocked down 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, three of which came from beyond the arc. Stephen Lennox pulled down 6 boards, but the Chaps were still on the wrong end of a 14-13 rebounding margin. LCU was also plagued with turnovers, committing nine in the first period alone.
 
Van Vliet proved to be the catalyst for the DBU offense nabbing 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%) from the field and a pair of free throws. As a team, Dallas Baptist tallied a 51.4% (19-for-37) field goal average.
 
Chandler Jacobs opened the second period with a layup for the Patriots extending their lead to nine. Once again, Asrat and Williams partnered up for back-to-back LCU buckets to bring the Chaps within four points at 50-46. Patrick Burke scored seven of DBU's next 10 points to widen their lead to 60-48 with 14:56 to play. Lubbock Christian mounted their final comeback attempt that was highlighted by a layup from Williams to pull the Chaparrals within five points with 10:35 on the clock. LCU's efforts were not enough as the Patriots rushed to a 13-point lead following nearly three and a half minutes of scoreless play for the Chaps. DBU's offense proved to be too much and eventually took an 86-66 lead before winding down the clock and downing Lubbock Christian by a final score of 88-74.
 
Williams led Lubbock Christian in the final period with nine points and five rebounds. After opening the game with five triples in the first period, LCU was held to one second half three-pointer and 46.7% (14-of-30) from the floor. Marcos Schuster and Williams combined for 10 of the Chap's 18 rebounds in the half, but Dallas Baptist was able to match their efforts and provide 18 rebounds of their own.
 
For the second consecutive game, Lubbock Christian closed out the night with a 50.9% average from the field on 28-of-55 shooting. Williams' 19 points and eight rebounds marks his best performance of the season. The Patriots capitalized on LCU's mistakes scoring 19 points off of the Chap's season-high 22 turnovers. The Lubbock Christian squad was severely overpowered in the paint as DBU outscored the Chaparrals 48-22 inside the key.
 
The Chaparrals fall to 3-5 on the year and will be forced to have a short memory as they return to action Saturday afternoon against the reigning Heartland Conference Tournament Champion Lions of University of Arkansas Fort Smith, who are ranked No.7 in the latest Sports Information Directors of America poll and No. 22 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches poll. Tipoff against UAFS is set for 1 p.m. inside Rip Griffin Center. The contest marks LCU's 2017 Heartland home opener and will be their fourth game of the season against a nationally ranked opponent.