LUBBOCK, Texas (February 9, 2019) – Lubbock Christian University had its best defensive  performance of the last decade Saturday afternoon, dominating Texas A&M-International 75-36 in the Rip Griffin Center.
 
The Chaps moved to 16-7 with the win and are now two games above .500 in Heartland Conference play at 7-5.
 
LCU started the game about as well as they could have, scoring nine points before the Dustdevils were ever able to get a bucket. TAMIU kept the game close for most of the first half, drawing as close as four points with 9:34 left before the break.
 
A 6-0 run by the Chaps that ended with just over four minutes left in the half put the game in hand, giving them a double digit lead on a jumper from Isaac Asrat. Asrat missed out on his fourth straight game of scoring 20 points or more, but still led LCU all scorers with 16 points while adding in four steals on the defensive end.
 
Asrat scored the first four points of the second half as Lubbock Christian went on a 10-2 run and pushed the lead out to 23 points with 15:04 left in the game. The Chaps turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, limiting the Dustdevils to a 20.7 shooting percentage, including on 12.5 percent from behind the arc.
 
TAMIU only made six field goals in the entire final 20 minutes, while LCU got hot on offense and made 56 percent of their shots (14-25). Another 15-2 run under 10 minutes busted the game wide open as the Chaps went up by 30 on a pair of Brennen Fowler free throws.
 
Fowler did not have to shoulder much of the scoring load in the win, but did have another strong game on the glass., pulling down 11 boards. It was his 11^th double-digit rebound game of the year and the 36^th of his career.
 
Without Fowler's usual double-digit scoring effort, the Chaps spread the scoring around more evenly, with nine different players finishing with at least two points. Besides Asrat, two other Chaps finished in double figures in Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath (14) and Kobe Thompson (12). It was only the third time for Thompson to score at least 10 points and the sixth time for Gilbreath in their LCU careers.
 
Lubbock Christian's lead reached its widest point of the night with just under a minute to go as Zach Stepp got in on the soring barrage with a three-pointer. Each team scored one final basket before the horn sounded, and LCU walked away with their fourth straight win and their 11^th out of 12 at home this season.
 
TURNING POINT
A 6-0 run by the Chaps as the first half wound down put LCU up by 12 points, and TAMIU was unable to cut the deficit back to single digits at any point the rest of the game.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
With the Dustdevils missing so many shots (43 during the game), the Chaps had numerous opportunities to run their fast break offense and took advantage, scoring 23 points on the fast break on the night.
 
NEXT UP
After playing the last four games at home, LCU will now go back on the road to take on the Patriots of Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m. on Feb. 14 in Dallas.