ODESSA, Texas (February 28, 2020) – Lubbock Christian ran into an offensive buzzsaw Thursday night, as UT Permian Basin shot 57 percent from the field, including 65.6 percent in the first half and 51.2 percent from behind the arc, to down the Chaps 106-95.
 
The 57 percent shooting effort was the third highest in a game this season for the Falcons, who move to 16-14 and 9-12 in Lone Star Conference play with the win. The Chaps also shot it well at 52.1 percent but fell to 17-9 overall and 14-7 in league play.
 
There were eight lead changes in the game and seven times that it was tied, but all of that came within the first 10 minutes of the game. LCU was able to keep with UTPB's furious offensive pace early on, getting buckets in the paint from Rashaan Proctor and Lloyd Daniels as well as three-pointers from Parker Hicks and Silas Crisler.
 
Hicks did as much as anyone to keep the Chaps in the game early on, scoring 22 of his 27 total points in just 17 minutes on the floor in the first half. He shot 9-15 from the floor, including 2-4 from behind the arc. No other LCU player had more than six points in the first half.
 
Lubbock Christian's largest lead of the game was five points and came at the 10:50 mark in the first half thanks to an and-one from Daniels. The Falcons quickly cut back into it with a three-pointer from Pat Dembley. Dembley was UTPB's leading scorer with 25 points, although five other Falcons reached double-figures, including 19 apiece from Miles Washington and Elvin Rodriguez. It was a jumper from Rodriguez that re-tied the game at 26-26 with 9:54 left in the first half.
 
Cameron Copley hit a three-pointer to put the Chaps back up one final time, before the Falcons really exploded. UT Permian Basin hit five three-pointers over the next three minutes, missing just twice in that time span and building the lead out to double-digits with just over six minutes left. They continued to pour in shots, getting up by as many as 16 points, but were up only 13 at halftime thanks to a three-pointer from Copley.  
 
Copley had the bulk of LCU's offense in the second half, like Hicks had in the first. The Canadian native scored 20 second half points on the way to a career-high 26 in the loss. He was 8-13 from the field overall but tied a career-high with six made three-pointers. Copley also chipped in five rebounds and eight assists.
 
The Chaps to make another second-half comeback, cutting the deficit to single digits early on and pulling as close as five points with almost 13 minutes left in the game on an and-one from Proctor. Adam Rivera responded with five straight points for the Falcons to put them up by 10, and LCU would never draw closer than eight points for the remainder of the game.
 
TURNING POINT
From the 9:22 mark to the 5:54 mark in the first half, UT Permian Basin went on a 17-2 run that was comprised of five three-pointers from four different players, none of which were the Falcons' leading scorer Dembley. UTPB continued to shoot it well enough to prevent the Chaps from ever coming back after that run.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
LCU allowed 100 or more points in a game for the first time since March 3, 2011, when they lost 103-104 to Rogers State. That makes this the first time the Chaps have allowed 100+ points since head coach Todd Duncan took over the program (2011-12 season).
 
NEXT UP
The Chaps will close out the regular season on Saturday against Western New Mexico, tipping off at 5 p.m. CT at Drag's Court. The Mustangs took down Angelo State 83-78 on Thursday.