LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Lubbock Christian Chaps shot almost 60 percent from the floor in the second half and held the nation's third-highest scoring offense to under 90 points for the first time this season, as LCU upset no. 4/5 West Liberty 91-83 at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic on Saturday, Dec. 17.
Both teams came out hot from deep, as
Rowan Mackenzie drained a three on his first shot of the game for the Chaps (6-3), before West Liberty's (9-1) Bryce Butler and Ben Sarson dropped in a pair of treys to give the Hilltoppers an 8-5 lead early. The two squads went cold from the floor for a bit, before a Zach Rasile three-pointer pushed the Toppers advantage to 11-7 with 14:13 left in the opening stanza.
Russell Harrison got the Chaps back into the contest with a jumper, but West Liberty answered again from deep, this time with a call from long-distance by Steve Cannady, to go up 14-9. A layup by Rasile and then a steal and slam by Butler swelled the Toppers to a 20-12 lead halfway through the first half.
LCU went on a quick 6-0 outburst, thanks to layups by
Kurt Wegscheider and
Aaron Gonzales, while
Najeeb Muhammad dropped in a pair of free throws to cut the West Liberty lead down to 20-18. The Hilltoppers answered with a Rasile layup, and a Chaz Hinds three-pointer put West Liberty back up 25-18 with 7:54 remaining in the first half.
A Hinds layup gave West Liberty their first double-digit lead of the contest, but Harrison drained a shot from the corner to keep the Chaps in the game, down 29-22 with 5:30 left in the first frame. LCU then went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, and an
Alec Zambie jumper from beyond the arc got the Chaps within one. West Liberty responded with three straight makes from deep, culminating in a Butler three with 39 seconds remaining. Mackenzie snuck into the lane and beat the first half buzzer with a floater, and LCU went into the locker room down 42-36.
After getting hit with two quick fouls in the first half, Mackenzie got going with back-to-back jumpers to open the second half, but a Sarson triple put West Liberty ahead 47-40 with 18:53 remaining. The Chaps continued to stroke it from the free throw line, connecting on four straight free throws, before another Harrison three cut the Hilltopper lead down to 51-49. Mackenzie scored the next two baskets for LCU, and the Chaps had their first lead of the game since the opening minute, going ahead 53-51 with 15:17 remaining.
The lead did not last long for LCU, as the Hilltoppers busted out a quick 11-2 run, thanks to a pair of layups and a three-ball from Sarson, to go ahead 62-55 with 12:31 left in the game. Harrison kept the Chaparrals within striking distance with a steal and dunk, but jumpers by Malik McKinney gave West Liberty a 71-62 lead with 8:16 remaining.
Gonzales started a late Chaparral run with a three-ball, before Mackenzie found
Fletcher MacDonald underneath, and a quick 6-0 outburst for the Chaps cut the deficit down to 71-68. Gonzales hit another three to tie the game at 73 apiece with 4:13 remaining. Free throws from Harrison and
Karhan Jones put LCU ahead, before another MacDonald layup gave LCU a 79-76 advantage with 2:03 remaining.
A pair of Steven Cannaday free throws got the Toppers within one, but Mackenzie found a streaking Muhammad down the court for the easy bucket. Muhammad made another clutch bucket to put LCU ahead 83-78 with 54 seconds left in the game. The LCU defense held West Liberty to just 1-for-10 from the field and went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the final minute of the game, knocking off no. 4/5 West Liberty 91-83.
The 83 points scored by the Hilltoppers is the lowest points scored for West Liberty this season. The Toppers were averaging 100.7 points per game this season. West Liberty shot just 3-for-16 (18.75 percent) from three in the second half and 11-for-34 (32.4 percent) for the game, their fourth lowest shooting percentage from three this season.
As a team, the Chaps went 29-for-37 (78.4 percent) from the free throw line, going 20-for-25 (80.0 percent) in the second half.
Muhammad led the Chaps with a career-high 21 points. The Las Vegas native was right at home inside the South Point Arena, going 10-for-10 from the free throw line, tying Kenny Hewitt for the single-game free throw percentage record. Hewitt went 14-for-14 against Mid-America Nazarene on Feb. 7, 2009. Muhammad also dished out six assists and had three steals.
Five Chaps finished the game in double figures, with Mackenzie and Harrison both scoring 16 points apiece. Mackenzie also handed out four assists, while Harrison pulled down six rebounds. Gonzales scored 11 points, while MacDonald set a new career-high with 14 points. Jones saw more playing time than usual this season, scoring a season-high five points.
Butler led West Liberty with 22 points and seven rebounds.
The Chaps close out their time in Vegas at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic with a matchup against Le Moyne College. LCU and the Dolphins face off at 5:30 PM on Sunday, Dec. 18.
