TYLER, Texas (January 2, 2021) – Lubbock Christian University built an first-half lead thanks to a strong performance at the free throw line and held off UT Tyler in the second half to win 80-64 at the Herrington Patriot Center on Saturday.
 
The win moved the Chaps to 3-0 overall and in Lone Star Conference play, making this the best start to a season by and LCU team in head coach Todd Duncan's tenure. The last time LCU had a better start was the 2010-11 season, when they were 5-0 to begin the year.
 
Reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week Parker Hicks led the Chap offense in the win. The senior forward scored 24 points to lead all scorers despite a slow start that saw him score just seven in the opening half. He followed with 17 on 7-of-9 shooting, including 2-3 from behind the arc in the final 20 minutes. Hicks also pulled down nine rebounds, falling just one short of his second double-double of the season.
 
Sophomore guard Rowan Mackenzie did get a double-double with 10 rebounds and a career-high 22 points. It was second double-double of the year for Mackenzie and the fourth by a Chap player this season. He had the majority of his production in the first half, when he scored 16 points and got seven of his rebounds. Overall, he was 9-11 from the floor.
 
Cameron Copley and Lloyd Daniels both reached the double-digit scoring mark as well with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The game was tight to start with neither team leading by more than four and the score tied at 11 with 12:48 left in the opening half. Lubbock Christian got the game's next points on a pair of free throws by Ty Caswell, which sparked a 15-4 Chaparral run. By 7:00 mark in the half, LCU had built an 11-point lead. UT Tyler found some rhythm in the final four minutes of the half to pull within four, but Hicks hit a three-pointer with 50 seconds left and the Chaps led by seven heading into the locker room.
 
LCU pushed the lead back out to double-digits just over three minutes into the second half thanks to a Mackenzie jumper. The Patriots kept pushing though, and pulled as close as five points with just over 11 minutes to go.
 
Gonzalo Corbalan got to the free throw line on the following Chap possession, sparking a quick 9-0 run and basically putting the game in hand for Lubbock Christian. The Patriots were forced to foul down the stretch, but LCU hit 80 percent of their free throws in the game to seal up the win.
 
TURNING POINT
Lubbock Christian's 15-4 run in the first half gave them a cushion to work with and kept them on top for the remainder of the game, but it was the 9-0 run with 11:04 left in the second half that put the game out of reach.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Free throws were important for the Chaps in the win with 27 total fouls called in the game, including 22 committed by UT Tyler. LCU, already the best free throw shooting team in the LSC, hit 80 percent (21-26) of their shots from the charity strip, including perfect performances from Mackenzie, Copley and Daniels.
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will be back out on the court at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center on Sunday, taking on UT Tyler at 5:30 p.m. and looking to move to 4-0 on the year.