SAN ANTONIO, Texas (January 12, 2019) – The Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team took a late first-half lead and pushed past St. Mary's 80-68 on Saturday afternoon, marking just their second road win of the 2018-19 season.
 
The Chaparrals' win was the fourth straight against the Rattlers and their sixth in the last seven meetings between the two teams. St. Mary's' last win came on New Year's Eve, 2016 in San Antonio.
 
LCU started slow in the contest, as St. Mary's scored the first seven points of the game. Isaac Asrat finally got the Chaps on the board almost two minutes with an and-one jumper in the paint.
 
Asrat had a strong game after not playing in Thursday's contest against Texas A&M International, finishing with 24 points and eight rebounds. The 24 points marked the 12^th time this season the senior scored in double figures and was five short of matching his season high, which was set on Dec. 1 against UAFS.
 
The Chaps closed the gap to just one point with 12:40 left in the opening half, as Silas Crisler stole the ball and Rashaan Proctor benefited with a fastbreak jumper in the paint. The Rattlers remained on top, however, until the 8:59 mark, when Proctor hit a layup to give LCU a lead for the first time in the game.
 
Steals came often in the game for Lubbock Christian, as they racked up eight overall, just one less than their season high. Crisler and Kobe Thompson led the way with a pair of steals each.
 
St. Mary's see-sawed back in front on the following possession, but LCU responded with a 10-point run that gave the Chaps the lead for good. LCU continued to push as the half wound down, leading by as many as 13 points when Silas Crisler hit a three-pointer with 1:07 to go. Heading into the locker room, LCU still led by double-digits.
 
The Rattlers hit the first bucket of the second half to cut their deficit to nine points, but that was the last time LCU would lead by less than 10. Brennen Fowler scored the next points, hitting twice from the charity stripe and sparking another 10-0 Lubbock Christian run. The next St. Mary's basket came with 16:55 left to play, and by that point the Chaparral's were leading by 17.
 
Fowler had 12 points and grabbed seven boards, reaching the double-digit scoring mark again after a season-low seven points on Thursday against Texas A&M International. Jay Workman was the only other Chap to finish in double-figures with 10 points. It is the fifth time this season the Kermit native has scored at least 10 points.
 
Lubbock Christian continued to hit shots the rest of the way, not letting the Rattlers get any closer than 11 points (2:18 left to play), but the Chaps had another short run of six points to hold onto the lead and finish out the win.
 
Skyler Brooks led St. Mary's ins scoring with 16 points as the Rattlers fell to 9-6 on the season and 1-2 in Heartland Conference play.
 
TURNING POINT
Isaac Asrat hit just two three-pointers all game, but the first one sparked the Chaps' 10-0 run in the first half and the second one closed it out. The run gave Lubbock Christian the lead for just the second time all game, but they never trailed again.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Chaparral's shot better than 50 percent from the field for the just the eighth time this season, but the fourth time in their last five games. LCU is now 8-0 when shooting better than 50 percent.
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will return to its home court to continue Heartland Conference play and take on Rogers State at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 in the Rip Griffin Center. The game will be included in this season's NCAA Division II Hoops Showcase of games and broadcast on ESPN3.