LUBBOCK, Texas (December 5, 2019) – Forty minutes was not enough. Fifty minutes was not enough. Fifty-five minutes of play after tipoff, however, a winner was finally decided as Dallas Baptist escaped with a 97-87 win in triple overtime over Lubbock Christian.
 
The Chaps' Lone Star Conference home opener featured 16 different lead changes and was tied nine times before the Patriots were finally able to pull away. Five different LCU players spent at least 30 minutes on the floor in the loss, led by sophomore guard Cameron Copley, who played a career-high 53 minutes and 16 seconds. The game was just the fifth to go into triple overtime in all of Division II this season. None have gone to a fourth extra period.
 
In the first half, Lubbock Christian out-shot Dallas Baptist 37.5 percent to 32.1 percent from the field and limited the Patriots to just 27 points, which was their lowest first half total since last season's Heartland Conference Championship game, when No. 9 St. Edward's held them to just 22 points in the first 20 minutes.
 
Lloyd Daniels scored the first seven points of the game for the Chaps, putting them up 7-4 in the early goings. Not many other LCU players could get going offensively in the first half, however, but a 7-0 run helped the Patriots build out a six-point lead on a jumper from Chandler Jacobs at the 9:15 mark.
 
Silas Crisler hit a layup and was fouled, making the free throw to complete the and-1. Rashaan Proctor hit back-to-back jumpers in the paint, and LCU finally tied the game back up on a jumper from Daniels with 5:02 left in the half. Crisler made another pair of three-pointers, and the Chaps went into the locker room up by one.
 
The second half featured runs by both teams, as Lubbock Christian began it with a 10-4 run to go up by eight with 16:28 left to play in the half. It would be their widest lead of the game. DBU quickly fought back, however, as Carson Hughes hit two straight three-pointers to get them back in it. The Patriots re-took the lead at the 12:50 mark.
 
Hughes was DBU's leading scorer on the night, pouring in 22 points on 8-16 shooting, including a 5-9 showing from behind the arc. He was joined in double figures by another four DBU players, however, including Jonathyn Washington and Tylan Dean with 16 points each.
 
DBU did not stop with the two-point lead, and in what ended up being a 16-point run, pushed the gap all the way out to 10 points, which was the widest it ever got. After going 5:15 without and LCU points, Copley finally stopped the Patriot run with a back-to-back three-pointers. Parker Hicks sparked an 8-0 Chap run with a three-pointer of his own, and LCU tied the game back up at 61-all with 3:33 left to play. Both defenses stepped up, and the two teams went to overtime with that same score.
 
The Chaps got up by as many as six points in the game's first extra period and forced a missed three-pointer from the Patriots on their next offensive possession, but a tipped out rebound found its way to Hughes, who capitalized on the second-chance opportunity with a three-pointer of his own. LCU still led by three with seven seconds left, but opted not to foul and DBU's Carter Brown hit a contested three-pointer to force the second overtime.
 
Offense was harder to come by in the second overtime as the two teams see-sawed back in forth. Proctor drew a foul and went to the free throw line with 22 seconds left and the Chaps down by one. He hit the first to tie the game, but could not give them the lead with the second. DBU finally pulled away in the third overtime, securing their sixth straight victory to start the season.
 
Daniels finished the game as LCU's leading scorer with 25 points on 9-13 shooting, becoming the fifth different Chap to reach 20-point mark in the last four games. Hicks (16), Copley (13), Crisler (13) and Ty Caswell (12) all finished in double figures as well. Lubbock Christian shot 40.6 percent from the field overall, including 45.2 percent from behind the arc.
 
TURNING POINT
After a missed DBU layup with 3:32 left in the game, the rebound bounced off Crisler and out of bounds, giving the Patriots an extra possession. The took advantage, and Hughes eventually went baseline for a dunk that swung the momentum in his team's favor. LCU was empty-handed their next two offensive trips down the floor, while DBU followed up with back-to-back three-pointers, putting the game well in Patriot hands.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
As the two teams best at forcing turnovers in the Lone Star Conference, Lubbock Christian and Dallas Baptist did not disappoint. The Chaps forced 20 turnovers while the Patriots forced 21. DBU capitalized more often, however, scoring 20 points off turnovers to just 12 for LCU.
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will be off for finals and won't return to the hardwood until 7:30 p.m. on December 14, when they host Tarleton State in the Rip Griffin Center.