AUSTIN, Texas (February 24, 2018) – The road has not been kind to Lubbock Christian University who dropped their final regular season contest Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas against St. Edward's University. The Chaparrals were upended by the Hilltoppers in an 84-76 result where LCU senior Marcos Schuster finished with a team-high 23 points for the second consecutive contest.
 
LCU jumped out quick to an early four-point lead over the Hilltoppers after a triple by Schuster put the Chaps up early 15-11. Over the next three minutes, St. Edward's pulled even at 19-19 with 10:13 left in the half. Schuster responded with back-to-back buckets that sparked an 11-4 scoring run that featured a trio of Chap three-pointers. LCU was held to six points over the final five minutes of the opening half. Though the Chaparrals finished the period shooting 53.3% (16-for-30) from the field, St. Edward's managed to even up the score at 36-36 heading into the halftime break.
 
Schuster burst onto the scene with some hot-handed shooting in the period knocking down a pair of three-pointers while going 5-for-8 from the field for 12 points. Fowler followed right behind with 10 points of his own on 5-of7 shooting. Shockingly, the Chaps were unable to convert from the free throw line in the half marking the first period without a made free throw since an 0-for-1 second half clip against Washburn University last season (Nov. 26, 2016). Rashaan Proctor recorded a season-high for himself in the first half alone with six rebounds to lead the Lubbock Christian squad to a 22-13 advantage on the boards over St. Edward's. Of LCU's 36 points in the opening 20 minutes, 34 came from their starting five.
 
Corey Shervill opened up the second period with consecutive baskets to help the Hilltoppers to a 7-1 run over LCU. Fowler tacked on a pair of mid-range jumpers for the Chaps before Schuster once again hit a trey to give Lubbock Christian their only lead of the second half at 44-43. The edge was short-lived for the Chaparrals as SEU responded with seven unanswered points over the next two minutes. A layup by Schuster pulled Lubbock Christian within two-points of the Hilltoppers, but that would be as close as they would come for the remainder of the contest. St. Edward's closed out the match with an 84-76 win over the LCU squad.
 
Schuster added in 11 more points over the final period helping Lubbock Christian to another stellar shooting performance for a team average of 57.7% (15-of-26) from the field. Lubbock Christian's defense had issues containing the SEU attack that registered a 64% field goal average in the second half. Landon Goesling went off for the Hliltoppers with 18 points of his own over the final 20 minutes.
 
Schuster's 23-point explosion for the game came on a trio of three-pointers and 60% field goal shooting (9-for-15). Brennen Fowler joined Schuster in double-scoring figures finishing the contest with 17 points. Isaac Asrat notched 12 points of his own while shooting 5-for-8 from the floor. Proctor reached new heights for himself falling just shy of a double-double performance with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Lubbock Christian's inability to record a free throw in the opening period goes further than just made free throws. The Chaps were unable to even attempt a shot from the stripe, a feat that had not been performed since the first half of an 81-79 loss to Newman in the opening round of the 2016 Heartland Conference Tournament (March 4, 2016).
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The loss concludes the Chaparrals regular season efforts where they logged a 13-14 overall record and a 9-7 mark in conference matches. The Chaps efforts throughout their conference schedule places them as the No. 4-seed in the upcoming Heartland Conference Tournament where they will face off against No. 5-seeded Rogers State University. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. inside Union Multipurpose Activities Center in Tulsa, Okla.