LUBBOCK, Texas (January 31, 2019) – Lubbock Christian University found life on their home court Thursday evening, taking down a streaking Newman team 78-70 in the Rip Griffin Center.
 
The Chaps (13-7, 4-4 Heartland) have done well protecting the friendly confines this season and overall under head coach Todd Duncan. They are 8-1 in the Rip this season and 57-10 on their home court in the last five seasons.
 
The contest was almost a mirror image from first half to second, as Newman took an early lead and controlled much of the first half as they shot exactly 50 percent from the field and hit 37.5 percent from behind the arc. Dametrius Walker's three-pointer with 8:01 left in the first half put the Jets up by as many as 10 points.
 
Thirteen seconds later, the two teams stopped play for a media timeout, and the Chaps came out on fire. LCU scored eight straight points to cut the deficit to two with 3:59 left before the break. Another three minutes later, Kobe Thompson grabbed a rebound on a missed Newman three-pointer and hit a fastbreak layup to tie the game up at 30-30. The Jets did hit four free throws to close out the half, but LCU still had the momentum going into the locker room.
 
Lubbock Christian kept the game close despite struggling shooting the ball in the opening 20 minutes. The Chaps hit only 39 percent of their shots from the field and got just one three-pointer on eight attempts.
 
Asrat still shot well from behind the arc and was a big part of the win for the Chaps. The senior hit 5 of his 10 three-point attempts, matching a season-high he set on 12/29 against Jarvis Christian College. He finished the game with a team-second 25 points.
 
Asrat finished the game with only one point less than the game's leading scorer, Brennen Fowler who had 26 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Together the two seniors accounted for more than half of the Chaps' points. The 13 rebound helped Fowler record the ninth double-double of the season and the 34^th of his career. The senior has the fifth most double-doubles of all active Division II players.
 
Half number two went much better for the Chaps, as they tied things back up less than a minute in and then took the lead for the first time all game on a three-pointer from Fowler with 17:29 left to go. LCU would not trail for the remainder of the game.
 
The Chaps got especially hot from behind the arc, hitting four three-pointers in five possessions within a span of three minutes. The final three came of the hands of Jay Workman with 8:03 left in the half and put LCU up by double-digits for the first time on the night.
 
LCU's biggest lead of the night came with 3:13 remaining when a pair of Asrat free throws put them up by 14. The Jets were forced to foul the rest of the way to stop the clock, and the Chaps hit the necessary free throws to close out the win.
 
TURNING POINT
The Chaps scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half, giving them the lead for the first time and for good and also sparking a hot-shooting second half.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Lubbock Christian greatly improved their shooting in the final 20 minutes of play, making 51.7 percent of their shots from the field and 58 percent of their shots from behind the arc. Even with the strong second half, however, LCU shot worse than 50 percent for the 10^th time this season. Coming into the game, the Chaps were 9-0 when shooting better than 50 percent, but only 3-7 when shooting worse. Their last win when shooting worse than 50 percent was on 11/17 against Cameron, when they shot 49.1 percent.
 
UP NEXT
The Chaps will play the second game of a four-game homestand this Saturday, taking on Arkansas-Fort Smith at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Rip Griffin Center.