ODESSA, Texas (February 19, 2021) – Lubbock Christian University's men's basketball team out-scored UT Permian Basin 54-26 in the second half to cruise to a 93-58 win in the Falcon Dome on Friday night.
 
An outburst in scoring from the bench led the second-half charge, with double-digit scoring efforts from Jalen Brattain and Aamer Muhammad in the final 20 minutes. Brattain scored all 16 of his points in the second half on 6-7 shooting, including a 4-4 performance from behind the arc. Muhammad matched his career high with 19 points in the game, scoring 12 of them in just five minutes on the floor in the second half.
 
When the second half began, the Chaps were leading by just seven points and their largest lead of the game was 11 points. The Falcons got the first bucket of the half on a layup by Trevion Lamar and UTPB pulled as close as four two minutes into the period.
 
With just under 15 minutes to play however, Brattain hit a three-pointer and Rowan Mackenzie followed with another to spark an 11-0 run by LCU. Jordan Horn hit a layup and the ensuing free throw when he was fouled to slow the Chaps down slightly, but another 15-0 run by LCU after that increased the lead to 28 points with just under eight minutes to go.
 
Lubbock Christian went on cruise control from there on out but continued to make stops on defense and get buckets on offense. Brattain scored twice more in the final minute, and LCU's 35-point lead at the final horn was their largest of the game.
 
The Chaps ended up shooting a red-hot 61.3 percent (19-31) from the field during the second half, including 68.8 percent (11-16) from behind the arc. Overall, the Chaps shot 56.9 percent, marking the third-straight game and the ninth time this season they have made at least half of their attempted shots.
 
Meanwhile, UT Permian Basin's 58 points were their lowest total of the season and their 40.4 percent field-goal shooting mark was their second-lowest mark of the year. Only one Falcon player – Lamar – reached double-figures.
 
In the first half, Lubbock Christian was led by Parker Hicks, who scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the game's opening 20 minutes. Lloyd Daniels also made an impact int the opening half with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
 
The Falcons actually had the upper hand offensively as the game opened, scoring six quick points and forcing LCU into a pair of turnovers. The Chaps finally got on the board at the 16:57 mark with a layup from Hicks, and they took a lead two minutes later when the Decatur native hit again.
LCU's lead ballooned all the way to 11 points at the 9:05 mark thanks to baskets from Muhammad and Daniels as well as a three-pointer from Hicks. The Falcons cut it back to four with just over four minutes to play and LCU led by seven at the halftime break before their strong final 20 minutes.
 
TURNING POINT
From the 14:21 mark to the 8:24 mark in the second half, Lubbock Christian scored 26 points while holding UT Permian Basin to just three.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Coming into the game, LCU already led the Lone Star Conference and ranked No. 6 in all of NCAA Division II with a shooting percentage of 52.1 percent on the year, but they still were able to raise that percentage to 52.5 percent after the win over the Falcons.
 
NEXT UP
It will be LCU's turn to host next time around, as UTPB comes to the Rip Griffin Center for a rematch at 4 p.m. on Sunday.