LUBBOCK, Texas - Western New Mexico ended the game on an 18-7 run and held Lubbock Christian to 2-for-11 from the floor in the final 7:03 of game action, as the Mustangs picked up their first win over the Chaps since 1977, knocking off LCU 76-67 inside the Rip Griffin Center on Saturday, Jan. 14.

The Mustangs (10-6, 4-6 LSC) jumped out to a quick lead, thanks to a layup by Olamide Pedersen and a three from DJ Heath to go ahead 5-0. Despite a three from Kendall Dow, layups from Pedersen and Tony Avalos gave Western New Mexico a 13-6 advantage with 15:21 left in the first half.

The Chaps (10-6, 6-4 LSC) began to climb back into the game, thanks to five quick points from Russell Harrison. A pair of layups by Kurt Wegscheider tied the game at 15 points apiece, before both teams traded buckets. Najeeb Muhammad drained a triple to give the Chaps their first lead of the game with 8:22 left in the first half, going on top 22-19. 

Emmanuel White tied the game back up for WNMU, and Joshuwa Johnson started a 7-0 run by himself, knocking down a triple, sliding inside for a layup, and draining two shots from the charity stripe to give the Stangs a 32-28 advantage. Dow made another triple to get the Chaps within one, but jumpers by Avalos and Isaiah Lewis swelled the Mustange bulge to 36-34 with 2:16 remaining in the opening salvo. A three from Rowan Mackenzie tied the game at 37, and then the junior nailed a jumper from the wing with 44 seconds left to give the Chaparrals a 39-37 advantage at the halftime break. 

The back-and-forth action continued to start the second half, before Johnson put the Mustangs back in front 45-44 with another connection from downtown. Karhan Jones tied the game up for the Chaps with his first three of the season, and the contest was all square at 52-52 with 11:14 remaining in the game. 

A triple from Muhammad and a layup from Russell Harrison gave LCU a 57-54 advantage with 9:02 left, but the Mustangs answered with an Avalos layup. Muhammad hit another three to put the Chaps on top 60-57 with 7:03 remaining in the contest. Western New Mexico opened their run with a Jaylin McFadden jumper, and tied the game at 60-60 with 5:56 left after a Johnson free throw.

WNMU took the lead for good off a Heath jumper, and then took a 66-62 advantage after another Heath shot with 3:48 left. Amarion Cash nailed a triple to swell the Mustangs lead to 69-62, but Mackenzie hit a three of his own to cut the lead down to 69-65 with 1:21 remaining. Wegscheider connected on a layup with 1:04 remaining to cut the score to 70-67, but a McFadden block led to a Pedersen dunk on the other end, icing the game and Western New Mexico took a 76-67 win over LCU.

The win is Western New Mexico's first ever inside of the Rip Griffin Center and their first win over the Chaps since Dec. 20, 1977 when the Mustangs won 98-78 in Alamosa, Colo. LCU had won six straight meetings since the two became conference foes in 2020.

The Chaps went just 9-for-14 from the free throw line (64.3 percent), their second worst mark in a game where LCU attempted at least ten free throws this season. Lubbock Christian went just 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) from the stripe against Regis on Nov. 11. LCU missed all three of the front end shots on their one-and-one chances in the second half.

Despite the loss, Mackenzie and Harrison flirted with double-doubles. Mackenzie scored 20 points and hauled in nine rebounds, going 3-for-4 from deep and shot 7-for-10 from the field. Harrison scored 16 points and picked up seven rebounds. The Lubbock native also recorded a block.

Avalos led the Mustangs with 17 points. Pedersen finished with a double-double, with 10 points and 13 rebounds, along with two blocks. Western New Mexico scored 36 points off the bench and outrebounded the Chaps 41-28, the most rebounds for an LCU opponent this season.

Lubbock Christian will kick off a four-game road trip this week, heading to Tyler to face the UT Tyler Patriots on Thursday, Jan. 19. First tip is set for 7:30 PM