PORTALES, N.M. - Despite 65 combined points from Rowan Mackenzie, Russell Harrison and Kurt Wegscheider, a shot at the buzzer gave the Chaps their second-straight one-point loss, falling to Eastern New Mexico 77-76 on Saturday, Feb. 11.

The Chaps (16-8, 12-6 LSC) opened the contest on an 11-3 scoring run, thanks to six points from Mackenzie before Harrison added five straight off a triple and a layup from inside. Eastern New Mexico (15-9, 10-8 LSC) tied up the game on an 8-0 outburst, as a pair of layups from Greg Johnson squared the contest at 11 apiece with 11:44 left in the first half. 

The Hounds continued to score at will, with Grehlon Easter draining two straight from deep to but ENMU ahead 17-13 with 8:55 remaining in the opening stanza. Threes from Eze Dike and Jahcoree Ealy found the bottom of the bucket, and the Greyhounds took a 25-15 lead with 4:54 left in the first. 

Jumpers from Wegscheider and Fletcher MacDonald got the Chaparrals closer, before a big three from Wegscheider cut the lead down to 27-24. A layup by Easter and three straight makes from the charity stripe for Biazej Czerniewicz put the Greyhounds back up nine, but Karhan Jones hit a pair from the free throw line before the end of the half, and the two squads went into the locker room with Eastern New Mexico ahead 34-27.

ENMU did not miss a beat out of the break, as an Errol White three-ball gave the Hounds a 41-29 advantage with 17:54 left in the game. Harrison began to kickoff a Chap run by himself, scoring the next nine points for the Chaps, but an Easter layup put Eastern New Mexico back ahead 49-40 with 14:31 remaining. 

Wegscheider went on a run of his own, scoring the next five points for the Chaps, before a three-pointer from Aaron Gonzales cut the deficit to 49-48. The Greyhounds answered with a mini outburst of their own, as a layup from Ealy put ENMU back on top 55-50 with less than ten minutes remaining. 

LCU took their first lead since the first half with 7:00 left in the contest, as Mackenzie hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Chaparrals a 60-57 advantage. A triple from Deke tied the game back up at 62, but Harrison hit another shot from deep to give Lubbock Christian a 67-64 lead with 3:06 remaining in the contest. 

With 56 seconds left, Harrison connected on another triple, and the LCU lead extended to 72-67. Both teams traded makes from the free throw line, before Czerniewicz connected from beyond the arc, and the Hounds trailed 76-74 with five seconds left.

Lubbock Christian went to inbound the ball, but Gonzales' pass to Najeeb Muhammad was off the mark, and Eastern New Mexico got the ball back on their own end. Ealy drove inside the paint, but was fouled by Mackenzie, and went to the line to shoot two free throws with two seconds left. Ealy made the first shot, but missed the second. Luckily for the Greyhounds, Czerniewicz snuck by the LCU bodies and tipped the ball at the last second, draining the buzzer beater and giving Eastern New Mexico the dramatic 77-76 victory. 

The Chaps have now lost back-to-back games by one-point after falling to Western New Mexico on Thursday, Feb. 9, 82-81. It is the first time LCU has lost back-to-back one-possession games since 2016, when Lubbock Christian fell to no. 17 Washburn in Puerto Rico 65-63 on Nov. 26 and then lost to Cameron 65-63 in their next game on Dec. 10. The loss also snaps the Chaparrals' five game winning streak over the Greyhounds.

Harrison led Lubbock Christian with 24 points, shooting 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) from three and 10-for-15 (66.7 percent) from the field. The Lubbock native also pulled down seven rebounds.

Mackenzie was right behind Harrison in scoring with 23 points. The junior went 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line and also dished out six assists. His teammate Wegscheider scored a season-high 18 points and flirted with a double-double, hauling in nine rebounds in the loss.

Easter led the Greyhounds with 19 points. Four ENMU players finished the game in double digits. 

The Chaparrals look to get back on track as they return home for a pivotal LSC West Division matchup against St. Edward's on Thursday, Feb. 16. Tip-off from the Rip Griffin Center is set for 7:30 PM. Fans can purchase tickets at lcuchaps.com.