LAS VEGAS (December 20, 2024) – Lubbock Christian's time in the Entertainment Capital ended on a sour note Friday as the Chaps fell to Montana State Billings 82-69 inside the South Point Arena.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Chaparrals (8-4), who had three players score in double figures. Duncan led the way with a season-high 29 points and was just one shy of matching his career-high. He shot 50 percent from the field, including five made three-pointers.

Muhammad tacked on 16 points and six rebounds and Sean Murphy helped out with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Only two other players scored for the Chaps though on a night where they shot worse than 40 percent for only the third time this season. LCU's 32 percent three-point percentage on the night was better than Thursday's showing, but still their third-lowest mark of the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth battle throughout the opening half, as Lubbock Christian scored the game's first five points and then immediately allowed a 10-0 run to fall behind by five. The Chaps tied the game back up at 12-all but then trailed by seven again just four minutes later.

Muhammad played a big part in keeping LCU close in the first half, scoring 12 of his 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The Chaps finally retook the lead with 1:42 left before the break when he hit a three-pointer, but the Yellowjackets responded with an 8-0 run and led by five as the teams headed to their locker rooms.

Lubbock Christian cut the lead to four early in the second half but just couldn't slow down the MSUB offense enough to keep the game close. The Yellowjackets shot a season-high 51.8 percent from the field, including 48.1 percent from behind the arc – just one night after shooting 19.2 percent on threes.
 
GAME NOTES
» Ethan Duncan, Najeeb Muhammad, and Sean Murphy combined to account for 84 percent of the Chaparrals points.
» Lubbock Christian got a team-high 10 rebounds from Amondo Miller Jr.. It is the fifth time this season he has led LCU in rebounding, and he was just two points shy of his first double-double of the year.
» Duncan has scored at least 20 points in three of the last four games and four times overall this season. Two of those times have been in losing efforts.

This article was partially created using technology provided by Data Skrive.