DENVER, Colo. - Led by
Rowan Mackenzie with 16 points, no. 16/24 Lubbock Christian held off a second half come back from Regis to pick up a 66-59 road victory.
The Chaps (1-0) and Regis (0-1) went back-and-forth in the early portions of the contest, before Kendall Dow scored his first career points in the LCU blue and white, his jumper with 14:07 left in the first half giving Lubbock Christian a 10-9 advantage. Dow then scored his first career three-pointer just 35 seconds later to give the Chaparrals the 13-11 lead early.
After Regis retook the lead, Russell Harrison got in on the scoring, first with a layup with 11:47 left in the opening stanza, and then a silky smooth three-point jumper at the 11 minute mark, pushing the Chap advantage to 18-14.
Not to be outdone by the newcomers,
Rowan Mackenzie got going for the Chaps, connecting on two free throws with 7:38 left, before hitting back-to-back jumpers and LCU went ahead 28-20 with 6:05 left in the first frame.
A jumper by David Simental with 12 seconds left cut LCU's advantage down to six, but Aaron Gonzales beat the buzzer as the opening half expired with his second shot from beyond the arc connecting, and the Chaps raced into the half ahead 37-28.
The Chaps came out firing in the second half, with a layup from Gonzales before Kurt Wegscheider converted defense into offense, stealing the rock from the Rangers and dishing it off to Najeeb Muhammad, who laid it up and in to put LCU up double digits, going up 41-30 with 18:09 left in the second half.
Regis continued to fight back, as a thunderous dunk by Brayden Carter with 13:36 left cut the Chap lead down to eight, but Mackenzie came up big with a silencer from three just seconds later, pushing LCU ahead 48-37 with 13:11 left.
Mackenzie and Wegscheider would hit on back-to-back layups off offensive rebounds, before a three-point basket by Mackenzie after another offensive board by Wegscheider gave LCU their largest lead of the contest, going up 57-41 with 10:13 left.
The Rangers woke up late, going on a 10-0 run over the next 3:52 of game action, before a Gonzales layup with 6:02 left put the Chaps back ahead 59-51.
Both teams then went cold for over two minutes, before Wegscheider connected on a midrange jumper to push LCU up 64-56 with 2:14 left. The Rangers could only get as close as seven points, and a block by Mackenzie on a three point attempt with six seconds left punctuated the Lubbock Christian win, as the Chaps held on for the 66-59 victory.
LCU had at least three players finish the night in double-figures in points for the 10th straight game. Mackenzie led the way with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. It's the fourth straight game Mackenzie has scored in double digits.
In his first game as a Chap, Wegscheider was one board short of a double-double, scoring 11 points while hauling in nine rebounds and distributed the rock at will with four assists. Muhammad also had a solid opening game in the blue & white, scoring 12 points with three rebounds and three assists.
As a team, the Chaps hauled in 40 rebounds, the first time they've done so since pulling down 42 against Western New Mexico on Feb. 24, 2022. LCU's 12 offensive boards are the most since grabbing 12 offensive rebounds at Eastern New Mexico on Feb. 17, 2022. Lubbock Christian turned those rebounds into points, scoring 12 second chance points in the contest.
David Simental led the Rangers with 18 points, three rebounds and two blocks.
LCU closes their time in Denver with a matchup against RV Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, Nov. 12. Tip-off is set for 5 PM central.
