PORTALES, New Mexico (January 16, 2020) – In a game that featured six lead changes and eight ties, Lubbock Christian's men's basketball team came away victorious, defeating Eastern New Mexico 62-60 in Greyhound Arena.
 
The Chaps led by as many as nine points in the gam but also trailed by as many as seven. They took control, however, in the final seven and a half minutes, allowing only one Greyhound field goal while scoring 16 points of their own, turning a seven-point deficit into a two-point win.
 
Lloyd Daniels led LCU to the win, pouring in 19 points on extremely efficient 9-12 shooting. He also pulled down three rebounds and notched one steal. He was joined in double-figures by Parker Hicks and Cameron Copley, who finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively. The leading Chap rebounder was freshman Ty Caswell, who pulled down a career-high nine boards in the win.
 
Eight of Caswell's 11 rebounds came in the first 20 minutes of play, as Lubbock Christian started the game with a strong first half. Daniels opened the scoring with the game's first four points before ENMU finally got on the board. The Greyhounds took a brief one-point lead at the 16:38 mark, but LCU quickly got back in front with a three-pointer from Copley.
 
The three-pointer was one of three made by the Chaps in the first half on nine attempts, but they struggled mightily from behind the arc overall against the Greyhounds. LCU hit only one more three-pointer in the second half, going 4-19 (21.1 percent) overall on three-pointers, which was their third-worst percentage of the season. They also struggled from the free throw line with 60 percent shooting, well below their season average of 78 percent.
 
LCU still shot better both overall and from behind the arc than their opponents. The Chaps limited the Greyhounds to 42.3 percent shooting overall and an abysmal 12.5 percent (2-16) on three-pointers. They made no three-pointers in the first half and only hit their second three with one second left on the clock.
 
Copley's second three-pointer in the first half at the 5:29 pushed the Lubbock Christian lead out to seven points, and they got it to its widest point of nine points on a jumper from Hicks at the 3:08 mark. Daniels scored the last basket of the half, and LCU went into the locker room with an eight-point advantage.
 
In the second half, Eastern New Mexico actually outscored Lubbock Christian 33-27, but the Chaps did just enough to end the game in front. The Greyhounds came out of the locker room hot, hitting their first four shot attempts of the half, including a three-pointer from Devin Pullum. Pullum was ENMU's leading scorer coming into the game and did get 14 points but was outscored by Jose Serrano who led the Greyhounds with 17.
Just five and a half minutes into the second half, Eastern New Mexico had tied the game back up at 38-all, and they took the lead two minutes later on a pair of free throws from Brandon Meadows. With 11:12 left in the game, the Greyhound put together a six-point run, and Ibn Zaid completed an and-one play at the 7:50 mark to give them their widest lead of the game at seven points.
 
After Zaid's made layup, however, the Chap defense clamped down and the Greyhound offense went cold. The would make only one more field goal throughout the rest of the game (with one second left) along with four free throws, while the Chaps scored 16 points to come back and get the win.
 
TURNING POINT
Ty Caswell hit a layup with 7:32 left in the game, sparking a 10-0 Lubbock Christian run, turning a seven-point deficit into a three-point lead in just three minutes and giving the Chaps momentum in the closing minutes of the game.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Of the 16 points LCU scored during their comeback in the final seven and a half minutes, nine came from Lloyd Daniels. The junior's 19 points are tied for his second-most in a game this year and marked the sixth time this season he has led the Chaps in scoring.
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will complete the weekend road swing on with an important divisional battle against West Texas A&M on Saturday in the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas.