CANYON, Texas (December 9, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University fell to their fifth nationally ranked opponent Saturday night with an 82-72 loss in Canyon, Texas to No. 8/9 West Texas A&M University. Brennen Fowler had a monster performance to lead the Chaps with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Stephen Lennox also threw down a double-double going for 19 points and 12 rebounds of his own.
 
LCU jumped out to a hot start scoring 11 unanswered points to open up the first period. Despite falling back early, West Texas A&M responded with a 12-4 run that tied the ballgame at 15-15. A layup by Lennox returned the lead to Lubbock Christian, but the advantage was short-lived. David Chavlovich knocked down a three-pointer six seconds later to give the Buffs their first lead of the night at 18-17. WTAMU then scored nine straight points to extend their lead to a 10-point margin with 5:51 left to play in the period. Lennox scored five of the Chap's final eight points of the half, but the Buffs closed out the period shooting 13-of-18 from the field on their way to a 36-25 lead at the break.
 
Lennox was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field leading the Chaparrals with nine points in the period. Fowler added in seven points and six boards to push LCU to a 17-13 rebounding advantage over the Buffs. Lubbock Christian knocked down 11-of-25 field goals for a 44% first half shooting, but committed 10 turnovers that allowed West Texas A&M to convert 12 points.
 
Despite opening up the night 0-for-8 from the floor, the Buffs stormed back to finish the half shooting 13-for-26 from the field. Ryan Quaid claimed all five of WTAMU's free throws in the half to lead the Buffaloes with 12 points. The West Texas A&M squad also posted a 50% mark from beyond the arc to open up the evening.
 
Fowler kicked off the second half on a tear, scoring the Chap's first six points. David Chavlovich was able to find his rhythm and proceeded to score 13 of the Buff's next 15 points over a 1:41 stretch to extend WTAMU's lead to 54-45. Lennox responded with back-to-back buckets inside the paint sparking a 12-3 run for LCU. Fowler capped off the Chaparral run with a layup to tie the game at 57-57 with 8:48 remaining. Chavlovich converted a layup of his own to regain the lead for the Buffs. Fowler, not to be outdone, came down the floor and knocked down his second three-pointer of the season giving Lubbock Christian a 60-59 lead. Two minutes later, Gaige Prim knocked down a jumper for West Texas A&M handing the Buffaloes their final lead change of the evening. WTAMU scored 17 of the game's final 26 points to finish off Lubbock Christian 82-72.
 
LCU opened up the second period shooting 12-of-17 from the floor, but closed out the half with a 4-of-10 field goal mark. Fowler logged 23 points in the final period while Lennox and Isaac Asrat added in 10 points each.
 
Chavlovich carried the Buffs in the second half scoring 23 of their 46 points in the period. The WTAMU senior shot 9-of-11 to push the Buffaloes to a 51.5% (17-of-33) second period shooting average.
 
The Chaps finished the contest shooting 51.9% (27-of-52) from the field marking their fourth contest of the season with a field goal average of 50% or higher. Fowler and Lennox each registered season high scoring performances. Asrat was the final Lubbock Christian player in double-scoring figures with 12 points. West Texas A&M entered the contest shooting 36.7% from three-point range, but registered 10 triples against the Chaps for a 52.6% average from beyond the arc. All 72 of LCU's points came from their starting five as the Buff's bench outscored the Chaparral bench 20-0. West Texas A&M registered one steal, but were still able to outscore Lubbock Christian 15-2 in points off of turnovers.
 
LCU falls to 3-7 overall this season and will take a week of rest before returning to action Saturday, Dec. 16 against Cameron University. Tipoff against the Aggies will take place at 3 p.m. inside Rip Griffin Center.