CANYON, Texas (February 27, 2021) – Lubbock Christian University earned the program's first-ever Lone Star Conference Championship on Saturday, shooting a scorching 62.5 percent from the field to beat West Texas A&M 103-85 on their own floor.
 
The Chaps (17-1, 15-1 LSC) secured the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament with a 4.406 rating in the conference rankings finishing over one-tenth of a point ahead of the No. 2 seed Buffs (12-2, 10-2) who finished the season with a 4.292 rating. Full LSC tournament seeding and a breakdown of the point ratings system can be viewed here.
 
It was the second time for LCU to score 100 points this season, but only the seventh time they have reached the century mark under head coach Todd Duncan. The last time West Texas A&M allowed 100 or more points on their home floor was Dec. 3, 2009, when they beat East Central 119-111, but it took three overtimes for the Tigers to reach the mark. To find the last time the Buffs allowed triple-digits on their court in a regulation game, you have to go all the way back to a 1998 NCAA South Central Regional game on March 7, when they pulled out a 105-101 win over Central Oklahoma.
 
Lubbock Christian ended up with the ball off the opening tip and ended up with two chances to score after an offensive rebound, but they missed both. For the entire rest of the first half, they would only miss eight more shots, going 16-of-26 from the field (61.5 percent), including 6-of-10 from behind the arc.
 
The Chaps first got on the board with a layup from Rowan Mackenzie, but West Texas A&M was the hot team early, hitting their first four shots and leading 8-4 early. Lloyd Daniels got going with a layup, followed by a three-pointer and then a three from Parker Hicks that put LCU up 12-10 at the first media timeout.
 
Daniels got within striking distance of his career-high but did not surpass it, scoring 31 points on a ridiculous 12-of-14 shooting performance, while Hicks was a major reason for a different outcome against the same team LCU lost to just two nights ago. The Decatur native was 6-of-12 from the field, with four of those makes coming from behind the arc. He was also a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line, giving him 26 points. And to top it all off, he grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds for just his second double-double of the season.
 
The score stayed close early, with the Buffs going up by five at the 11:17 mark and the Chaps swinging back in front with their own five-point lead at the 5:44 mark. LCU closed out the half well though, out-scoring WT 11-2 in the last 2:24 to take an 11-point lead into the locker room.
 
Hicks had the first bucket of the second half for Lubbock Christian, setting the tone for the final 20 minutes, which is when he scored 21 of his 26 points. Free throws by the Chap senior and a layup by Mackenzie kept the Chaps ahead by double-digits four minutes into the half.
 
West Texas A&M did not really stop scoring, as they shot a very strong 54.8 percent in the final 20 minutes, but they just couldn't keep up with LCU, who's second half shooting percentage was even higher than it had been in the first half at 63.6 percent.
 
The Buffs briefly closed the gap to single-digits and even pulled within five points with 9:36 left to play, but Daniels got to the free throw line and hit a pair, and Hicks followed with eight straight points all by himself to push the Chaps back ahead by 13.
 
LCU continued to push as WT's offense finally slowed down, and a layup followed by free throws from Hicks pushed the Chap lead to its widest margin of 18 points with just over a minute to play.
 
To stop the clock, the Buffs began fouling on every possession, but Lubbock Christian missed just one free throw the entire second half and shot 91.4 percent from the charity stripe overall, icing the title-clinching victory.
 
TURNING POINT
It looked as though West Texas A&M was coming back to set up a tense final 10 minutes when they used a short 7-2 burst to pull within five, but LCU's 10-2 run in response kept the Buffs at arm's length and gave them a comfortable lead to work with down the stretch.
 
INSIDE THE NUBMERS
Lubbock Christian's 62.5 percent mark from the field was their highest this season and their highest since Jan. 19, 2017, when they shot 66.7 percent from the field in a win over St. Edward's.
 
NEXT UP
As the No. 1 seed in the LSC Tournament, Lubbock Christian will host a first-round game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. They will take on the No. 8 seed St. Edward's. Tickets for the game will go on sale at noon Sunday and can be purchased at lcuchaps.com/tickets.