LUBBOCK, Texas (January 11, 2020) – The Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team had a lead for 34 minutes and 38 seconds of their game Saturday afternoon, but Angelo State led when it counted most, taking down the LCU 73-71 in the Rip Griffin Center.
 
The loss ended a five-game win streak for the Chaparrals, dropping them to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in Lone Star Conference play. They are also now 2-2 within their LSC division. Angelo State is 4-0 in the division and 6-2 in conference play with an 10-2 overall record.
 
LCU started the game about as well as possible, playing an almost perfect first five minutes. Rashaan Proctor won the opening tip and Cameron Copley hit a three-pointer on the Chaps' first possession to give them an early lead. LCU went on to score on each of their next three possessions before their first miss. At the first media timeout with 15:35 to go in the first half, the Chaps were up by 11.
 
ASU kept the game from getting out of hand with three-pointers from Cameron Reedus and Jeremy Hayes, and the Rams pulled within one at the 11:44 mark on an and-one from Salisu Yahaya. Proctor hit another two layups in the paint to keep LCU in front. The Louisiana native started the game 5-5 from the field on the way to 18 total points, leading the Chaps in scoring.
 
Neither team put together much of a run throughout the entire game, but LCU's longest scoring streak of nine points came with about six minutes left in the first half, sparked by a Parker Hicks three-pointer. The run put them up by eight points and with another three-pointer from Copley and free throws from Proctor with 38 seconds left gave them an 11-point lead, which would be their widest of the game.
 
Hayes followed with a three-pointer for the Rams, and LCU turned the ball over on their ensuing possession, allowing for a buzzer-beating Angelo State three-pointer heading into halftime.
 
The Chaps shot a strong 52.9 percent from the field during the first half, which allowed them to build the lead. That percentage dropped off to 40.7 percent in the second half as they scored just 27 points in the final 20 minutes, compared to 44 in the first half.
 
Still, the second half was not all bad. LCU forced three straight turnovers from ASU in the first two minutes and scored twice, pushing the gap back out to nine points. The Rams cut back into the lead with a five-point run though, and the score was close the rest of the way.
 
A three-pointer from Ty Caswell put the Lubbock Christian lead at eight points with 11:15, and a layup from Lloyd Daniels kept it there with 9:33 to play. The Daniels layup ended up being a bit of an anomaly however, as the Chaps scored only five more points throughout the rest of the game.
 
With 5:42 remaining, the Rams finally re-tied the game at 68-all on a pair of free throws from Ronald Bell. LCU did respond, with Daniels making a free throw and following up with a layup to get the lead back out to three, but Hayes again hit from behind the arc to knot the score back up at 71 with just under two minutes to go.
 
The Rams took the lead on another bucket by Bell with 1:10 remaining, putting them up 73-71, which ended up as the final score. A missed layup and missed free throws in the game's final minutes sealed LCU's third home loss since the start of the 2018 season.
 
Although Proctor led the team in scoring with 18, both Daniels and Copley finished in double figures as well with 15 and 12, respectively. Angelo State also had three players in double figures. Hayes led the way with 21, including a perfect 5-5 on three-pointers, followed by 15 each from Bell and Reedus.
 
TURNING POINT
It was the final 10 minutes that did the Chaps in.  Angelo State scored 15 points in that time period, compared to just seven for Lubbock Christian.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
LCU, which averages 17.5 turnovers forced per game, outdid that number, forcing ASU into 19 turnovers and scoring 21 points off of those miscues. However, the Chaps have a losing record of 4-5 when they force more than 15 turnovers.
 
NEXT UP
After a three-game homestand, Lubbock Christian will go back on the road, taking on Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M in important divisional battles on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.