OKLAHOMA CITY (December 18, 2020) – Strong performances from seniors Lloyd Daniels and Parker Hicks and an impressive first collegiate game from Rowan Mackenzie helped Lubbock Christian University beat Oklahoma Christian 82-70 in the 2020-21 season-opener Friday night.
 
Basketball season would have normally started more than a month ago, and many teams in the Lone Star Conference were able to begin play last week, but due to COVID-19 cancellations, Friday night's matchup was the first game of the season for both LCU and OC. The Chaparrals led wire-to-wire in the victory, thanks to an impressive second half showing.
 
Up 39-33 at the break, Daniels led the charge in the final 20 minutes, scoring 11 points before the first media timeout of the second half. He would end up with 17 second-half points, giving him a team-leading 26 for the game. The New Jersey native was also the best LCU three-point shooter in the win, hitting on three of his four attempts from behind the arc, all of which came in the second half.
 
With 13:15 to go in the game, freshman Gonzalo Corbalan made a layup and Lubbock Christian increased its lead to double-figures for the first time, and the Chaps continued an 8-0 run to lead by 14 with 11:34 to go. Oklahoma Christian would not go away though, and quickly returned with a 6-0 run of their own that was fueled by back-to-back steals to put back within six at the 8:09 mark.  
 
Mackenzie, playing in his first game as a Chap after red-shirting last season, found an answer though and drilled a three-pointer from the corner to stop the OC run. The Australia native had a stellar performance, coming just three assists shy of a triple-double in his first collegiate outing. He scored 10 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists.
 
A layup by Cameron Copley got the LCU lead back out to double-figures and it stayed there the entire rest of the game. The largest Chaparral lead came with just over two minutes to play, when a layup by Mackenzie put LCU up by 17. Oklahoma Christian hit two three-pointers in the closing minutes before Lubbock Christian ran out the clock.
 
As a team in the second half, the Chaps shot 58.6 percent from the field, including 44.4 percent from behind the arc. Both numbers were up from the first half, when they shot 41.7 percent from the field and just 25 percent from behind the arc.
 
The first half was a much closer affair, featuring two ties, but never any lead changes. About the only Chap who had a good first half offensively was Parker Hicks, who scored 18 of his 24 total points in the game's opening 20 minutes. Hicks finished with a double-double, pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds.
 
TURNING POINT
An 8-0 run by Lubbock Christian starting at the 13:15 point in the second half with a layup from Hicks pushed the Chap lead out to double-figures and it was never cut down to fewer than six from there on out.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
24 | LCU won the rebounding battle 43-34 and capitalized on that by scoring 24 second-chance points to just 11 for OC.
2-4 | This is just the second win for the Chaps in the last six meetings with the Eagles, and it is their first win in the Eagle's nest since Jan. 21, 2017, when they won 75-72.
.830 | Free throws were important in the win, as LCU hit 10 of their 12 attempts (83 percent) while OC went just 6-for-11 (55 percent) from the charity stripe.
3 | Chaparral newcomers Rowan Mackenzie, Ben Janssan and Gonzalo Corbalan saw their first playing time in the win and each one found their way into the scoring column.
9 | Cameron Copley dished out nine assists to lead all players. He averaged 5.3 per game last season, which was the second-best mark in the LSC.
 
NEXT UP
With the LSC's modified bubble format, Lubbock Christian will remain in Oklahoma City to take on the Eagles again, with tipoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the Eagle's Nest.