LUBBOCK, Texas (January 6, 2022) – Taking the hardwood for the first time in 2022, Lubbock Christian University held off a tough Arkansas-Fort Smith team 57-51 on Thursday at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
The game was also the Chaps' first in Lone Star Conference play this season after they had a pair of contests postponed last weekend. LCU is now 13-0 on the year, three wins away from matching the program's best start, which was set last season.
 
Aamer Muhammad led Lubbock Christian in scoring with 16 points against the Lions, followed closely by Jalen Brattain's 15 points. Brattain was incredibly efficient, hitting seven of his nine shot attempts, including a pair of thundering dunks and one three-pointer. Parker Hicks added in 12 points and was one rebound shy of yet another double-double, and Rowan Mackenzie scored 11.
 
LCU jumped out in front with the game's first five points, but the game remained close throughout, and the Chaps never led by more than eight. UAFS briefly took a lead in the first half, going up 13-12 with 11:34 left to play. Despite back-to-back baskets by Brattain, the game was tied at 16-all on a Lion three-pointer two minutes later. It would be the last time the Chaps did not lead in the game.
 
A quick 5-0 burst, all from Muhammad, with just over six minutes left in the half put the Chaps on top for good, even if things were still tense the rest of the way. LCU's largest first-half lead was six points when Mackenzie hit a layup with 3:33 left before the break, but UAFS scored the last two baskets of the half and trailed by just one with 20 minutes to play.
 
Brattain drove baseline and threw down a dunk to start the second half, giving LCU some momentum that led to an eight-point lead just over five minutes in. The Chaps finally looked to be pulling away. The only problem was Matthew Wilson.
 
Wilson came into the contest as the LSC's leading scorer with an average of 21.4 points per game, but in the first half, it seemed like the Chap defense was kryptonite. The senior had just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, including a miss on his only three-point attempt. But in the second half, Wilson found some rhythm, mainly from behind the arc, and scored 16 points to keep his team in the game.
 
Back-to-back corner threes by the Lion guard with just over eight minutes left in the game pulled UAFS back within two points heading into the second-to-last media timeout. Mackenzie made a layup out of the break though, and three-pointers by Hicks and Brattain quickly had the Chaps back up by eight.
 
Wilson made his final shot with 4:25 left in the game before the LCU defense locked him down and forced him into four misses the rest of the way to help the Chaps preserve their lead. Muhammad hit three free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
 
TURNING POINT
Mackenzie's layup out of the under-eight media timeout stopped the quick 6-0 run by the Lions and kept them from tying the game for the first time in the second half, which could have given them momentum heading into the game's final minutes.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
6 | The Chaps got six minutes off the bench apiece from Cameron Copley and Ty Caswell. For Caswell, it was his first action all season after undergoing surgery in the offseason. Copley appeared for the first time since the Nov. 18 game against West Texas A&M, when he suffered an injury
15 | LCU had nine offensive rebounds compared to four for the Lions, and the Chaps capitalized on their extra possessions with 15 second-chance points
5 | The Chaps attempted only five free throw attempts all game, which was their lowest amount in a game this season
 
NEXT UP
Lubbock Christian will continue Lone Star Conference play on Saturday, hosting Oklahoma Christian at 4 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center.