LUBBOCK, Texas - Five players finished in double digits in points, as no. 16 Lubbock Christian rolled to a 92-43 victory over Arlington Baptist in their home opener on Monday, Nov. 21.
It was the Russell Harrison show to open the game, as the Lubbock native scored the first 11 points of the game for the Chaps (2-2) including three three-pointers to push LCU ahead 11-3 at the 17:48 mark of the opening stanza. Najeeb Muhammad added a three of his own, while Kurt Wegscheider dropped in a layup, and Lubbock Christian headed into the first media timeout up 16-3.
The Patriots (0-6) got within seven points, before
Rowan Mackenzie drilled his first three of the night and then scooted to the basket for a layup. Wegscheider added another layup to push the advantage for the Chaps to 27-13 at the 8:32 mark of the first half.
Muhammad and Aaron Gonzales rained down a pair of threes, before Harrison slammed home the first Chap dunk of the year to swell the lead to 35-16. Both teams would sit on a cold spell, before Alec Zambie became the third straight Chap to beat the first half buzzer, as his bucket with two seconds left sent LCU to the locker room ahead 39-20.
Gonzales came out firing with another three to open the second half, and a Mackenzie layup put LCU ahead by 22 at the 17:29 mark of the second half. After a pair of Patriot shots from beyond the arc cut the lead, Gonzales hit another shot from deep, as did Mackenzie, while a Zambie make from downtown put the Chaps ahead 63-33 with 11:55 left in the game.
Gonzales continued to stroke it from beyond the arc, hitting two more threes to swell the bulge to 69-35 with 10 minutes left. A jumper from Harrison got LCU back ahead by 35 with around five minutes left, before Vito Vujovic scored his first career bucket with the Chaps, putting LCU on top 79-42 with 4:43 remaining.
Harrison added a quick 5-0 burst on his own to touch the 20-point mark for the first time this season, while
Karhan Jones added a bucket late in the game. Zambie finished off the Patriots, connecting on a jumper with 36 seconds left, and LCU steamrolled Arlington Baptist 92-43.
The 49-point margin of victory is the first time the Chaps have won by 45 points or more since knocking off Western New Mexico 108-54 on Feb. 24, 2022. It is the first time the Chaps have scored at least 90 points the season, and the first time since that Feb. 24 rout of the Mustangs.
Lubbock Christian drained 15 three-pointers, shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. That mark is five three-pointers short of tying the school record set Feb. 24 against Western New Mexico.
Harrison scored 20 points for the first time in his career at Lubbock Christian, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Gonzales smashed his career-high for made three-pointers, shooting 5-for-9 from deep and 50 percent from the field, scoring a career-high 17 points. His three steals are also a career-high.
Zambie finished in double-digits for the first time in his career, scoring 11 points and shooting 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from the field. His two blocks are a career-high, while his four rebounds tie his career best.
Maurice Walker led Arlington Baptist with 12 points and three rebounds.
The Chaps will take 10 days off for the Thanksgiving holiday before opening conference play at home on Thursday, Dec. 1 against Oklahoma Christian. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM.
