AUSTIN, Texas (January 24, 2019) – Lubbock Christian University pulled within four points with under a minute to play against No. 3/4 St. Edward's on Thursday night, but was unable to complete the comeback in a 77-71 loss.
 
The Chaps fell back to .500 in conference play with the loss and 12-6 on the season, while the Hilltoppers won their 12^th straight and 18^th game of the season. SEU is a perfect 7-0 and in first place in the Heartland Conference.
 
LCU only made the game close with a strong second-half effort after falling behind by 21 points in the first half. The Chaps had one early lead when Brennen Fowler got their first bucket of the game, fighting through a foul to make a layup and hitting the free throw that followed for a 3-2 LCU advantage.
 
Fowler was the Chaps second-leading scorer with 12 points and was tied for the team lead in rebounds as well. It was the 16^th time this season that the Smyer native scored in double figures and the eighth time he either led or was tied for the team lead in rebounding.
 
The Hilltoppers responded with eight of the game's next 10 points after Fowler's and-one bucket, giving them a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
 
The Chaparrals struggled to shoot the ball in the opening period, making only 35 percent of their field goals in the first half, while St. Edward's shot 53.57 percent from the field, including 8-15 from behind the arc.
 
With just over three minutes left before the break, St. Edward's got the lead out to 21 points – the widest point of the half – before LCU closed out the have on a 5-3 run to go into the locker room down 43-24.
 
The second half is where the Chaps finally found their groove offensively, outscoring the Hilltoppers 47-34 in the final 20 minutes. It marked the 12^th time this season that LCU outscored its opponent in the second half.
 
Lubbock Christian's rally was due in large part to senior guard Isaac Asrat, who scored 23 of his team-high 27 points in the final 20 minutes of play. He was just two off matching his season-high of 29, and led the Chaps in scoring for the eighth time this season.
 
LCU slowly chipped away at the SEU lead, finally cutting the deficit to single digits with just over four minutes to play after a steal by Cameron Copley that turned into a fastbreak layup by Asrat. It was the only two fastbreak points scored by either team during the entire game.
 
The Chaps continued to fight and Asrat hit a pair of free throws with 39 seconds left to cut the deficit to four points. The Hilltoppers then turned the ball over and Asrat hit another layup to put LCU down just two points with 16 seconds to go.
 
Lubbock Christian was forced to foul to stop the clock the rest of the way though, and St. Edward's hit their final four free throws to seal the win and remain undefeated in Heartland play.
 
TURNING POINT
St. Edward's guard Ashton Spears hit three straight shots from behind the arc with just over ten minutes left in the first half, pushing the Hilltopper lead to double-digits for the first time in the game.
 
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
LCU shot 49 percent in the game after struggling in the first half. The Chaps have shot worse than 50 percent in exactly half of their games this season and are 3-6. Conversely, they are 9-0 when shooting better than 50 percent.
 
NEXT UP
The Chaparrals will finish their two-game road trip in the sooner state, taking on Oklahoma Christian in Oklahoma City at 3 p.m. on Saturday.