SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Lubbock Christian University men's basketball took the lead with 8:39 left to play but were unable to hold off No. 18 Colorado School of Mines in a 61-59 loss to the Orediggers Saturday afternoon at Bill Greehey Arena.
 
Lubbock Christian (1-2) found itself in an early hole, trailing 31-24 with 2:12 left in the first half. The Chaps closed out the opening period on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a Najeeb Muhammad buzzer beating three to cut the Oredigger lead to just two going into halftime.
 
The 18^th ranked Orediggers (2-1) controlled the glass throughout, outrebounding the Chaps 41 to 25. Mines grabbed nine offensive boards leading to 10 second chance points.
 
The Chaparral defense totaled eight steals in the loss, scoring 15 points off Oredigger miscues. Muhammad led the Chaps with four steals, tying his single game career high.
 
After a Kurt Wegscheider jump shot gave LCU a three-point lead with 6:10 left to play, the Chaps were outscored nine to four down the stretch. The Chaps lone made field goal in that stretch was a Wegschieder layup at the final buzzer. LCU shot 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-2 from three in the final six minutes.
 
Two Chaps scored in double figures with Tiras Morton leading the way with 21 points. Muhammad scored 11 to go along with his four steals.
 
Colorado School of Mines finished the game shooting 52 percent (26-50) while LCU was 40 percent (24-60) from the field. The Orediggers shot 4-for-14 from the free throw line.
 
UP NEXT
The Chaps return to action tomorrow afternoon to take on Regis in their second game of the LSC v RMAC Challenge. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Bill Greehey Arena.