LUBBOCK, Texas (March 2, 2021) – Down 10 points at the half, Lubbock Christian University came all the way back and took a two-point lead with 15 seconds to play, but Jake Krafka's contested three-pointer with two seconds to go won the game for St. Edward's and eliminated the Chaps from the 2021 Lone Star Conference Championship.
 
The loss was just the second for the Chaps this year, dropping them to 17-2 overall It was the first win for St. Edward's in Lubbock since head coach Andre Cook took over the program (2009) and moved the Hilltoppers to 11-7 this season.
 
LCU struggled to score in the first half, especially from behind the arc, where they were 2-for-8. SEU started the game strong, getting a three-pointer from B.J. Maxwell and a jumper from Daniel Venzant to jump ahead 5-0. The Chaps finally got on the board with a pair of three-pointers from Lloyd Daniels, but they would not hit another three the entire rest of the half.
 
Daniels was the main reason Lubbock Christian stayed within striking distance during the first 20 minutes of play, as the senior scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. It was his jumper at the 13:19 mark that tied the game at 12 and his layup on the following LCU possession that gave them their first lead of the game.
 
Starting at the 9:35 mark though, St. Edward's found their stroke behind the arc, getting three straight threes from three different players to build a seven-point lead. A layup from Marcus Hill with just under six minutes left increase the Hilltopper lead to double-digits for the first time. They pushed the gap all the way out to 16 points on a Maxwell steal and dunk, but LCU ended the half on an 8-2 run to trail by 10 at the break.
 
A 6-0 run for the Chaps started the second half, setting up a tense final 20 minutes of play. It only took six minutes for LCU to come all the way back and tie the game at 43-43, thanks to a jumper from Daniels, who had a repeat performance with 14 points in the second half. Daniels was helped out by Parker Hicks, who started hitting shots, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc, to the tune of 15 second half points.
 
With LCU back down two and just over 10 minutes to play, Daniels took over on offense, scoring six unanswered points by himself and getting a fourth bucket at the 8:34 mark that put the Chaps up by one. But St. Edward's remained close, never trailing by more than four points.
 
A layup from Maxwell tied the game at 69-all with 1:38 to play. The Chaps missed on the next possession but got a stop as well, and Ty Caswell pulled down the rebound with 44 seconds to play.
 
Head coach Todd Duncan did not take a timeout, letting his offense go to work. The go-ahead bucket came from who else but Daniels, as he hit a tough shot from the corner for his 27^th and 28^th points of the night.
 
With two fouls to give, Aamer Muhammad played tight defense and was called for both, setting up the Hilltoppers' final possession with nine seconds to play.
 
The defense was good, but the shot was just a little bit better, as Krafka got his corner three to fall with two seconds left on the clock. LCU could not get a desperation heave off before the final horn sounded.
 
TURNING POINT
The game was decided on the last possible play. Krafka hit his third three of the half and fourth of the game to send the Hilltoppers to the semifinals of the 2021 LSC Championship.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
For the first time all season, Lubbock Christian lost while out-shooting their opponent fro the field. The Chaps hit 28 of their 51 shot attempts (54.9 percent), while the Hilltoppers shot just 48.3 percent (28-58).
 
NEXT UP
Participants and seeding for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional will be announced Sunday evening on ncaa.com. The Chaps have been one of the teams in consideration in both rounds of regional rankings so far.