LUBBOCK, Texas – Forward Aaron Gonzales scored a career-high 20 points as the Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team defeated Southern Nazarene 84-69 Saturday afternoon at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
Both offenses came out firing in the first half shooting a combined 34-for-53 (64.2 percent) from the field and 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from behind the arc. An Ethan Duncan layup with nine seconds remaining in the half gave the Chaps a 42-41 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
The Chaps outrebounded SNU 24-21, of their 24 boards nine came on the offensive end. LCU's offensive rebounds led to 14 second chance points, while SNU grabbed just 5 offensive boards leading to six points.
 
LCU opened the second half with a 19-7 run to take a commanding lead. Najeeb Muhammad put on a show in the second half, dropping 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. Gonzales scored eight of his 20 points in the second half, scoring on all three levels finishing the game 8-of-10 from the field. The Junior also dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds.
 
The Chaps shot lights out going 31-of-54 (57.4 percent) from the field, 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from three, and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from the foul line. LCU forced 12 Crimson Storm turnovers which led to 17 points.
 
To go along with Gonzales and Muhammad, Ty Caswell (16 points) and Tiras Morton (13 points) scored in double figures for the Chaps.
 
Southern Nazarene was led by Benno Zecic with 21 points while Jonas Visser added 14 for the Crimson Storm.
 
UP NEXT
The Chaps head to Odessa, Texas for two neutral site matchups next week. LCU will open the two-day event on Friday against Southeastern Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. The Chaps will face Northern New Mexico on Saturday.

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