CANYON, Texas - The Lubbock Christian University Men's Basketball team fell short in an 86-72 loss to Fort Lewis Saturday afternoon, as the Chaps fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament comes to a close.

The Chaparrals (23-11) had three players score in double figures, led by Ethan Duncan, who had 16 points and six rebounds. Kurt Wegscheider tacked on 15 points and seven rebounds and Najeeb Muhammad helped out with 10 points.

Lubbock Christian took advantage of great ball movement in Saturday's game, piling up 15 assists on 26 made field goals. Tiras Morton's six assists paced the Chaparrals and Muhammad also added three assists of his own.

How It Happened

After jumping out to a 6-4 advantage, LCU went on a 7-0 run with 18:01 left in the first half to increase its lead to 13-4. Fort Lewis took a 31-29 lead with 2:26 in the opening period when Junior Garbrah hit a three. The Skyhawks took a 37-32 advantage into the locker room. The Chaps shot 1-of-12 (8.33 percent) from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.

Fort Lewis kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 64-51 advantage before LCU went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Duncan's three, to shrink the deficit to 64-56 with 7:54 to go in the contest. Fort Lewis responded and outscored the Chaparrals the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 86-72. LCU shot better from three-point range in the half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 40 points.

Game Notes

• The Chaps shot 26-of-61 (42.6 percent) from the field and 7-of-30 from three in the loss. 
• LCU was outrebounded 37 to 29 in the contest. Wegscheider and Tiras Morton grabbed seven boards each to pace the Chaps. 
• The Chaps were outscored 40-26 in the paint. 
• The Skyhawk bench outscored LCU's reserves 34-14. Brayden Carter and Amondo Miller Jr. scored 15 and 14 points respectively, off the bench for Fort Lewis. 
• Ethan Duncan wraps up his first season at LCU with 111 made threes, the second most in a season in program history. 
• Saturday saw the end of Senior Forward Kurt Wegscheider's LCU career. Kurt averaged 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 31 games this season for the Chaps. 
• Fort Lewis defeated LCU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Up Next
The Chaps wrap up the 2023-24 season with a 23-11 record, the fourth time the Chaps have won 20 games in a season in the Coach Todd Duncan era.