ODESSA, Texas (Jan. 16, 2025) - Ethan Duncan scored 23 points and Amondo Miller Jr. added 20 as Lubbock Christian fought for an 84-75 overtime win against UT Permian Basin on Thursday in the Falcon Dome.

It was LCU's first overtime win since Jan. 8, 2023, when they earned a 77-74 victory against Cameron.
 
It is just the second Lone Star Conference loss of the season for the Falcons, who came into the game sitting atop the league. Their only prior LSC loss came against Texas A&M-Kingsville. LCU and UTPB are now in a virtual tie for the West Division lead with one in-division losses each.
 
Duncan and Miller Jr.'s stellar scoring performances led the Chaparrals (12-5, 7-2) in the contest, and both did most of their scoring after the first half. Duncan had 17 of his points in the second half and overtime and Miller Jr. scored 15 of his in that same time frame.  
 
Miller Jr. also had 12 rebounds for the first double-double of his Chaparral career. Sean Murphy helped out with eight rebounds and 17, scoring 15 of his in the first half.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 12-4 to start the game, Lubbock Christian went on a 12-0 run with 16:02 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Miller Jr., to take a 16-12 lead to set up a back-and-forth rest of the game.
 
Neither team led by more than five for the remainder of the opening period, and Ty Caswell's buzzer-beating fadeaway jumper kept the Chaps within three at the break. LCU kept it close despite the fact that the Falcons shot nearly 60 percent through the first 20 minutes of the game. The Chaps shot 53.6 percent from the field themselves in the first half.
 
The first half also went by fairly quickly, due to the lack of fouls called against either team. Only four personal fouls were called total in the first 20 minutes and none resulted in free throws.
 
UT Permian Basin continued its hot shooting night early in the second half and widened the gap out to its widest margin of nine points with 13:43 left in the game. Murphy hit a jumper on the ensuing Chap possession that sparked a 11-2 LCU run, culminating in a fastbreak dunk by Miller Jr. that tied the game at 51.
 
The Falcons got back up by five, but Lubbock Christian came right back and were even at 58-all on Duncan's and-one layup. The Chaps finally pushed in front on a three-pointer from Ty Caswell to go ahead 69-67. They kept in front and seemed to have the game in hand in regulation, but an offensive rebound on a missed free throw with 11 seconds left allowed UTPB to tie the game and force the extra period.
 
Lubbock Christian allowed only three Falcon points in the entire five minutes of overtime though, taking the lead for good on Miller Jr.'s three-pointer at the 4:10 mark and closing out the win at the free throw line in the final minute.
 
GAME NOTES
» Lubbock Christian had a 37-31 edge on the boards in the win. They are now 10-1 this season when out-rebounding their opponent.
» After calling only four fouls in the first half, the referees called a whopping 23 in the second half.
» The Chaps were almost perfect at the free throw line, going 16-for-17 overall. The 94.1 percent shooting from the charity stripe is their highest in a game this season.
» Ethan Duncan notched his seventh game with at least 20 points and his 12 in double-figures. He has now led LCU in scoring in eight different contests.
» Amondo Miller Jr. was two points shy of matching his LCU career-high. It was his third game with 20 or more points this season and his 10^th time in double-figures.