WICHITA FALLS, Texas (January 30, 2021) – Nobody expected it to be easy for the Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team to move to 10-0 and match the best start in program history, and Midwestern State made certain it wasn't Saturday night in D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
 
The Mustangs gave the Chaps nearly all they could handle, even forcing an extra period, but LCU prevailed, stealing an 83-82 overtime victory. One more win and the Chaps will surpass the 1996-97 squad for the new best start in program history, but for now, head coach Todd Duncan and his team will have to be content with matching them.
 
For the first 25 minutes of the game, it looked as though Lubbock Christian would cruise to their 10^th win with relative ease. Coming off a 20-point win over these same Mustangs in Lubbock on Wednesday, the Chaps came out firing, building an 8-0 lead thanks to a jumper from Parker Hicks and two straight three-pointers from Rowan Mackenzie.
 
MSU got their first bucket at the 16:45 mark, but LCU responded with a three-pointer from Lloyd Daniels and three the hard way from Ty Caswell to open up an early double-digit lead.
 
Caswell seemed to very much enjoy playing in his hometown of Wichita Falls, as he poured in a season-high 17 points on 6-11 shooting, including a 4-8 performance from behind the arc. He was surpassed in scoring only by Hicks, who scored 19 (13 in the second half) and pulled down nine rebounds. Daniels was also in double figures with 13 points, and Aamer Muhammad scored 11.
 
Midwestern State would not let Lubbock Christian just run away with the game on the Mustangs home floor though, so they slowly chipped away at the lead until it was just three points with just over 10 minutes left in the second half.
 
LCU was able to stretch the gap back out to double figures about five minutes later, but MSU scored the final five points of the half and went into the locker room down just by just eight.
 
The second half opened with a 9-2 run by the Chaparrals, who looked like they might turn in a repeat performance from Wednesday, when an early second half run put the Mustangs away for good. And LCU was able to shoot a solid 50 percent from the field during the second half, including 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. The only problem was MSU, who shot 58.1 percent and just wouldn't go away.
 
 
A layup by Rommell Williams with 16:02 left to go cut the Chap lead back to single-digits, but it was around the 12 minute mark that MSU really heated up. Jalin Brown hit a pair of free throws and followed up with a jumper before Pierre Sanders made a layup to pull within four. Then after the media timeout Derrick Ogechi hit his first bucket since Jan. 23 to cut the deficit to two, and he followed that up with a three-pointer to pull within one, and they took their first lead of the game on the following possession.
 
The lead changed hands a couple of times before the Mustangs were able to score on two straight possessions with a stop in between, taking a four-point lead with 6:08 to go. Hicks responded with a three-pointer before Cameron Copley made a layup to get the Chaps back on top.
 
LCU was up by six with 1:32 to play, but three-pointers from Luke Hamilton and Terrell Wilson tied the game at 75-all. The Chaps had one last possession and several chances to win in regulation with a couple of offensive rebounds, but the extra period came anyway.
 
Only three buckets were scored by the Chaps in the five minute overtime period, but it was all they needed. Caswell opened it up with a three-pointer, and Hicks hit a layup after an MSU basket. The Mustangs then tied the game at 80-80, but Daniels put LCU back on top with a three-pointer. Sanders scored for MSU to bring them within one. Hicks was sent to the foul line on the following possession and missed his free throw, giving Midwestern State one last shot, but Wilson's floater bounced off the rim to secure the LCU win.
 
TURNING POINT
A 13-2 run by Midwestern State that began around the 10-minute mark is what gave the Mustangs the lead and set up the tense action down the stretch.
 
INSIDE THE NUBMERS
LCU was not particularly efficient from behind the arc in the win, but they did hit 15 of their attempts, which was a season high. The last time they hit 15 or more was Jan. 2, 2020, when they went 17-31 from behind the arc in a win over Western N.M.
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will be back out on the road next weekend, traveling out of state to take on UAFS in games on Friday and Saturday at the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas.