LUBBOCK, Texas (November 18, 2021) – In an early-season matchup between two of the top-ranked teams in the nation, it was the No. 3 Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team that came away victorious 73-66 against No. 1 West Texas A&M on Thursday night at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
The Chaps (3-0) built an early lead and led wire-to-wire, holding off a late comeback by the Buffs (5-1) to hand them their first loss of the season in front of a raucous LCU home crowd.
 
It was Aamer Muhammad who got the Chaps going to start the game, putting in a layup before nailing back-to-back three-pointers in the first two minutes of play. The sophomore had a game-high 24 points, which was also a new career-high, and 13 of those points came in the first half. By the time the first media timeout was taken, LCU led by 10.
 
Jalen Brattain pushed the lead to 13 points with a three-pointer at the 11:44 mark, and Rowan Mackenzie got it to its widest point of the night (16 points) with a pair of free throws at the 6:51 mark before the Buffs began to work back into the game.
 
WT pulled back within single digits with just under three minutes to go, and cut the lead all the way to seven with 51 seconds left in the half, but Cameron Copley hit a fadeaway in the paint and Muhammad blocked WT's last shot attempt before the break, keeping the Chaps up nine at halftime.
 
After shooting 46.4 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes of play, the Chaps struggled to 37 percent shooting, including only 1-of-10 on three-pointers in the second half, which is what allowed WT back into the game.
 
The Buffs actually outscored LCU 38-36 in the final period, with 14 of those points coming after WT offensive rebounds. But the Chaparral defense held WT to just 31 percent shooting for the half themselves and did just enough to stay in front for the final 20 minutes.
 
In the first 10 minutes of the second half, not much changed as the teams traded baskets and stops and LCU remained up by 10 to 12 points, but they could never pull farther away. Then with just under eight minutes to go, the Buffs got a layup from Addison Wallace before a three-pointer from Hayden Blankley. The next time down the floor, LCU looked to have made a defensive stop, but four straight offensive boards went to the Buffs and Blankley finally got a layup to go with a foul, for which he made the free throw, cutting the Chap lead to just one point.
 
The score stayed close for the next four minutes before it was Lubbock Christian's turn for a great play on the offensive glass. Brattain provided the effort for the Chaps at the 3:47 mark, crashing the boards, missing his first put back attempt and then going up strong to finish the play with a layup. LCU's defense followed up with a stop and Lloyd Daniels hit a pair of free throws the next time down the floor to give the Chaps some cushion through the final few minutes.
 
With the clock running down, WT took some quick shots and was forced to foul when LCU had the ball. Parker Hicks, Daniels and Muhammad all hit from the charity stripe to close out the win.
 
Although Muhammad was LCU's leading scorer, Hicks turned in an impressive performance, scoring 16 points and matching his career high with 15 rebounds. Eight of those boards and 11 of his points came in the second half. Daniels was the only other LCU player in double-figurers with 12 points.
 
TURNING POINT
WT had pulled within just one point and seemed to have all the momentum with just under four minutes to go when Muhammad missed a layup, but Brattain's extra effort to grab the offensive rebound and score on the second-chance effort kept the Chaps in front heading into the tense final minutes.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Chap defense held WT to just 32.4 percent shooting on the night, which is their worst performance from the floor this season. LCU opponents this season are shooting just 36.4 percent overall.
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will host Arlington Baptist on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center to wrap up their season-opening homestand.