FRISCO, Texas - A 13-2 run by no. 22 West Texas A&M in the second half pushed the top-seeded Buffs over Lubbock Christian 76-70 in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Championships on Saturday, Mar. 4.

The two rivals traded buckets early, as a Damion Thornton layup was answered by a pair of shots from Kurt Wegscheider and Aaron Gonzales to tie the game at eight with 15:14 left in the first half. Both sides went cold for a bit, but a pair of free throws and a layup by Rowan Mackenzie gave LCU (19-11) a 12-8 lead at the 12:34 mark of the opening half. 

A three from Russell Harrison was answered by two makes from deep for the Buffs (24-6) by Brock Mishak, and a connection from downtown by Thornton made it a 19-18 advantage for the Chaps. Najeeb Muhammad connected on a long ball of his own, but another make from deep by Larry Wise cut the LCU lead to 24-23 with 6:49 remaining in the first half.

After trading the lead for a bit, Julius Brown scored four straight points to give WT a 33-28 lead with 1:46 left in the opening stanza. Gonzales made back-to-back shots, before a Muhammad layup punctuated a 6-0 run for the Chaparrals, and LCU took a 34-33 lead into the halftime break. 

Thornton opened the second half for the Buffs on an 8-0 run by himself, giving West Texas A&M a 41-38 advantage with 16:50 remaining in the contest. Jumpers from Wegscheider and Muhammad tied the game, before a three-pointer from Gonzales gave the Chaps a 50-45 lead with 11:47 left in the game. 

Another make from just inside the arc by Gonzales swelled the LCU lead to six, before a three from Zach Toussaint gave the Buffs a 56-55 lead with 6:55 remaining. Muhammad and Toussaint traded makes from three, before another Toussaint connection from beyond the arc and a layup by Brown gave WT their largest lead of the game, going ahead 65-58 with 4:07 remaining. A jumper from Mackenzie cut the Buffs lead down to 69-67 with 1:10 remaining, but Thornton made a clutch three with 22 seconds left, and the Buffs closed out the game with four straight free throws to take the 76-70 win.

For the third time this season, LCU out shot West Texas A&M from the floor in a loss to the Buffs. The Chaps shot 49 percent from the field, while the Buffs shot just 40.6 percent. The difference however was that WT shot 42.9 percent from three, while the Chaparrals shot just 28.6 percent from deep. 

Mackenzie almost recorded his second straight double-double, scoring 21 points and hauling down nine rebounds. The junior shot 11-for-12 (91.7 percent) from the free throw line.

Muhammad scored 16 points while also dishing out five assists. Gonzales scored 13 points for the Chaps, and had four rebounds. Harrison also finished in double digits, scoring 11 points and pulled down five rebounds.

Thornton led the Buffs with 26 points and seven rebounds. He also shot 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from three. 

The Chaps will now await their postseason fate, as LCU currently sits seventh in the NCAA South Central Region rankings. The NCAA DII Selection Show is set for 10:00 PM on Sunday, Mar. 5 and will be streamed on ncaa.com.