TYLER, Texas (February 1, 2020) – It looked all but certain to be a loss as UT Tyler hit a pair of free throws to go up by nine with 2:20 left in Saturday's game. Lubbock Christian had other ideas, however, dominating from there on out to secure a 65-62 win.
 
The Chaps moved to 13-6 overall with the win and handed the Patriots their 14^th loss of the year. LCU is now 10-4 in Lone Star Conference play and has won four straight games for the second time this season.
 
LCU's furious comeback was sparked by a jumper from Lloyd Daniels with 2:04 left to play. Daniels would go onto score nine of the 13 points in the rally. He hit again with 1:18 left, followed by a UT Tyler trip to the foul line where they hit once to set the deficit at six. The Chaps took a huge chunk out of that lead the next time down the floor as Parker Hicks completed a rare four-point play with just 58 seconds left.
 
The Chaps got another stop on the next Patriot possession, and after a timeout, got the ball to Daniels in the paint to try and tie the game. The New Jersey native missed his first look, but tipped in his own miss and was fouled, sending him to the free throw line with a chance to go ahead. He hit it, and after yet another Lubbock Christian stop, splashed two more free throws to secure the win.
 
Lubbock Christian did have a lead for part of the first half, going up by seven in the game's first two minutes and holding onto that advantage until the 8:33 mark when Darius Alford hit a three-pointer to put UT Tyler up by one. Alford and Ty Glover tied for the team lead with 18 points apiece for the Patriots. The rest of the second half was back and forth, and when the two teams headed to the locker room for halftime, it was knotted up at 32-all.
 
For all but the last two minutes of the second half, the Chaps were outplayed by a fairly wide margin. They shot just 36.7 percent from the field, including just 16.67 percent from behind the arc. The first made LCU three-pointer in the second half was the one from Hicks with a minute to go. LCU's defense played well enough to keep them within striking distance though, and they did pull within one at the 9:22 mark.
 
UT Tyler's widest lead of the game was the nine points they got up by with 2:20 left to play, right before LCU began its comeback.
 
Daniels once again led his team in scoring, pouring in 24 points on 8-14 shooting. It is his third straight game with at least 20 points and the ninth time this season he has led LCU in scoring. Ty Caswell led the team in rebounding with a career-high 14 and added in 10 points for his third straight double-double. Hicks (13) and Rashan Proctor (12) also finished in double-figures.
 
TURNING POINT
The single most important play of the comeback came with just under a minute to play. The Chaps were still down by six with time running out and not many possessions left. Hicks helped them out by getting four points on one trip down the floor, catching and drilling a three-pointer from the left wing before calmly swishing the ensuing free throw.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
LCU's field goal percentage of .429 marked the first time in their current winning streak that they are currently on and the 65 points is their second-fewest in a win this season. The are now 6-6 when shooting worse than 50 percent.
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian's next text will be a tough one, as they return home to face top-five ranked West Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night inside the Rip Griffin Center.