KINGSVILLE, Texas - Lubbock Christian shot 59.5 percent from the field and 61.1 percent from beyond the arc and held off a late 17-19 run by Texas A&M-Kingsville to earn their first-ever win in Kingsville, knocking off the Javelinas 74-67 on Saturday, Dec. 10.

After an early layup by Rowan Mackenzie, the Javelinas (5-5, 1-3 LSC) went on a 7-0 run, thanks to a layup by Kavon Booker, a three from CJ Smith, and a layup by Jake Majors to take a 12-4 lead with 14:32 left in the first half. The Chaps (5-3, 2-1 LSC) made their first two shots of the game, but then missed seven shots in a row.

Lubbock Christian went on a 7-0 run of their own, with Mackenzie draining the first three of the game for LCU, before Alec Zambie and Kurt Wegscheider scored buckets in the paint to cut the lead down to 12-11 with 12:01 remaining. The Chaps found their stroke from beyond the arc, with Aaron Gonzales, Wegscheider and Russell Harrison hitting three straight shots from deep to put LCU on top 20-16 with 9:13 left in the opening stanza. 

A Booker layup cut the Chaparral advantage down to 20-18, but a jumper by Harrison and another three from Gonzales swelled the lead back to 25-18. Mackenzie scored the next five points for Lubbock Christian, but the Javelinas went on another small run, with back-to-back jumpers from Creighton Avery chipping the lead down to 33-32 with 33 seconds left in the first half. Najeeb Muhammad found Harrison inside for the answer with eight seconds left, and the Chaps headed into the locker room up 35-32.

The Chaps came out of the locker room sizzling, with Harrison and Mackenzie draining two shots from downtown apiece, and the LCU bulge swelled to 47-37 with 16:47 remaining in the game. After a layup by Willy Chayer with 16:16 left made it a 47-39 game, the contest came to a screeching halt, with 15 combined fouls being called inside of The SPEC over a span of three minutes of game time. During the lull, a Sammy Brooks layup cut the Javelina deficit to 49-45, but a Harrison jumper gave LCU a 51-45 advantage with 11:51 left. 

Muhammad got himself going on the offensive end, scoring his first three of the day, while a layup put LCU on top 60-49 with 8:10 remaining in the contest. A three from Gonzales and another shot from Muhammad rattled in, and the Chaps were up 65-50 with 6:25 left in the game, the largest lead of the day.

Smith scored a pair of quick buckets, before a three-pointer by Kendrick Washington and a dunk by Booker lowered the LCU advantage back to single digits, with the Chaps ahead 68-60 with 2:33 remaining. The Javelina defense turned it up a notch, forcing eight turnovers in the final six minutes of the game, as free throws from Smith cut the lead down to 70-64 with 52 seconds left.

Mackenzie found Zambie wide open with 35 seconds left to put the Chaps back ahead 72-64, and while the Javelinas went 3-for-4 from the free throw line to end the game, Texas A&M-Kingsville missed a pair of three-pointers and Muhammad drained a pair of shots from the charity stripe to squash the comeback attempt and give Lubbock Christian the 74-67 win.

As a team, LCU went 11-for-18 from three, shooting 61.1 percent from beyond the arc, including going 6-for-8 from deep in the second half (75.0 percent). That mark is the highest for the Chaps since LCU shot 63.6 percent from three (7-for-11) on Dec. 6, 2018 in a 68-65 win over West Texas A&M. 

Mackenzie scored at least 25 points for the third time this season, scoring 26 points and hauling in seven rebounds. Mackenzie shot 70 percent from the floor (7-for-10) and 81.8 percent (9-for-11) from the free throw line. The junior also dished out four assists.

Muhammad set a season high for assists for the second straight game, handing out a whopping eight assists, the most by any Chap player in a game this season. Muhammad also scored nine points and tied his season high in rebounds with four. 

Zambie scored just four points, but pulled down a new career-high in rebounds with seven. Harrison finished in double digits for the third straight game, pouring in 17 points for the Chaparrals.

Smith led the Javelinas with 15 points. Texas A&M-Kingsville had three players score 10 points, with Booker, Avery and Majors scoring 10 points each. 

The Chaps will get a week off before heading to Sin City, Las Vegas, Nev., for the first game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic against no. 4/5 West Liberty. Tip-off against the Hilltoppers is set for 7:45 PM Central Time on Saturday, Dec. 17.