SILVER CITY, N.M. - Lubbock Christian had multiple chances at the buzzer to tie or take the lead against Western New Mexico, but ultimately fell short, falling 82-81 to the Mustangs on Thursday, Feb. 9. 

The two squads traded early buckets, before Kurt Wegscheider and Amarion Cash traded three-pointers, with Western New Mexico (14-9, 8-9 LSC) taking a 9-7 lead. Rowan Mackenzie scored a pair of buckets, and the Chaps (16-7, 12-5 LSC) took a 13-11 lead with 13:36 left in the first half.

The Chaps and Mustangs continued to go back-and-forth, before a Karhan Jones layup and a three from Aaron Gonzales pushed Lubbock Christian ahead 22-17. Jones hit a shot from beyond the arc, but a Tony Avalos jumper tied the game at 28 points apiece with 4:19 remaining in the opening stanza.

LCU saw a pair of milestones passed late in the first half, as Mackenzie hit a jumper from outside the free throw line, giving the Chaparrals a 30-28 lead but also scoring his 1,000th career point. After a foul by Jaylin McFadden, Russell Harrison connected on a pair of free throws, his second make giving the Lubbock native 2,000 career points. Harrison previously played at Wayland Baptist, Clarendon College, Louisiana Monroe and now at Lubbock Christian as a graduate student.

The offense exploded for both teams in the final three minutes of the first half, as Karhan Jones hit another three-pointer, before Harrison scored five straight points. Ian Hohenstein and Dane Quest answered with a pair of layups, and free throws from Emmanuel White cut the LCU lead to 44-42 at halftime.

DJ Heath opened the second half with a layup to tie the game, and a quick 9-2 burst from the Mustangs, highlighted by layups from Avalos and an and-1 play from McFadden, to give Western New Mexico a 53-48 advantage. Mackenzie connected on a layup before a Harrison three tied the game, but a McFadden layup gave WNMU a 55-53 lead with 15:18 remaining in the contest.

A pair of McFadden layups put the Mustangs ahead by five, but back-to-back jumpers from Mackenzie and a layup by Jones gave LCU a 63-62 lead with 11:01 left in the game. Mackenzie and Jones hit back-to-back layups to pull ahead, but Avalos nailed a three to keep the Mustangs in the contest, down 68-67 with 8:29 remaining. 

The two squads traded free throws, but Wegscheider hit another three to put the Chaps up by four. Avalos drove inside for a layup, and then made a pair of free throws, tying the game at 73 points apiece with 4:53 remaining. The Chaps made four straight shots from the free throw line, but a layup from Hohenstein and a pair of McFadden makes from the charity stripe gave Western New Mexico a 78-77 lead with 2:31 left in the contest.

Wegscheider made a pair of free throws to briefly give the Chaps a 79-78 lead, but Keith Littles connected on a layup to give the advantage back to the Mustangs with 1:44 left. Najeeb Muhammad hit his first shot of the night, and Lubbock Christian went ahead 81-80 with 1:18 left. Western New Mexico answered, as McFadden made a layup with 1:02 remaining to put the Mustangs back on top 82-81. 

With 17 seconds left, LCU forced a Western New Mexico turnover to get the ball back. Wegscheider got a look in the lane with four seconds left, missing the shot but Harrison was fouled on the rebound with 0.9 seconds left in the game. Harrison missed both free throws, and the Mustangs rebounded the ball to end the game and hold on for the 82-81 victory. 

With the win, Western New Mexico has swept Lubbock Christian for the first time in program history. The Mustangs' previous wins in the series were in 1973 and 1977 before this season. It is also the first loss for LCU at Drag's Court in Silver City in team history.

Despite the loss, Jones scored a career-high 15 points off the bench for the Chaps. Jones shot 5-for-7 (71.4 percent) from the field and pulled down four rebounds.

Mackenzie led the Chaps with 23 points, going 7-for-8 from the free throw line. The junior also dished out five assists and hauled in four rebounds. Harrison and Wegscheider both scored 14 points, with Wegscheider connecting on a season-high two three-pointers. Harrison led the Chaparrals in rebounds with six. Gonzales scored ten points and pulled in five rebounds, shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. 

McFadden led the Mustangs with 24 points, shooting 8-for-10 (80 percent) from the floor. He also had three steals, three assists and four rebounds. 

Lubbock Christian will look to get back on track on Saturday, Feb. 11, when they face Eastern New Mexico. Tip-off from Portales is scheduled for 4:30 PM.