LUBBOCK, Texas (February 13, 2025) - Najeeb Muhammad and Ethan Duncan combined to score 40 points in Lubbock Christian's 66-62 win against Angelo State Thursday in the Rip Griffin Center.
 
The Chaparrals (19-6, 14-3) had three players score in double figures, led by Muhammad, who had 21 points and five assists. Duncan added 19 points and Sean Murphy helped out with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Lubbock Christian grabbed 44 rebounds in Thursday's game compared to Angelo State's 25, led by 11 boards from Ty Caswell. The rebounding margin of 19 was LCU's largest in a game since Nov. 21, 2022, when they had 19 more rebounds than Arlington Baptist. The last time they had that big of a rebounding margin against a D-II opponent was Jan. 2, 2021, when they out-rebounded UT Tyler by 20.
 
In a flip of the earlier meeting between these same two teams, the Chaps held the Rams without a made three-pointer in the game. When they faced off in San Angelo, LCU was 1-for-19 from beyond the arc. It is the first time LCU has held an opponent completely without a made three-pointer in at least the last decade, which is as far back as data is available.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth, physical affair with neither team leading by more than eight throughout the contest. LCU struggled to shoot it in the first half, hitting just 35 percent of their 28 attempts and only two three-pointers, but kept themselves either on top by a slim margin or within striking distance by out-rebounding the Rams 25-11 in the period. Ten of those rebounds came on the offensive glass, but the Chaps only turned them into four second chance points.
 
Angelo State's biggest lead of the game came with less than five minutes left in the opening half, when they used a 7-2 run to go up by six, but the Chaps cut it back to four, and Duncan just missed a half court heave break, leaving them down 32-28.
 
Lubbock Christian narrowed its deficit to 38-37 before going on a 9-1 run, finished off by Murphy's layup, to seize a seven point lead with 14:05 to go in the contest. They were up by as many as eight with less than 10 minutes to go, but the Rams would not go away without a fight.
 
ASU cut the deficit back to two with just over five minutes to play and again with just under two minutes to go. A couple more Chaparral offensive rebounds, a forced turnover and a pair of free throws from Muhammad secured the win for LCU.
 
GAME NOTES
» Sean Murphy notched a double-double for the Chaparrals with 10 points and 10 rebounds. It is his fourth double-double of the season.
» Najeeb Muhammad, Ethan Duncan, and Sean Murphy combined to account for 76 percent of the Chaparrals points.
» Lubbock Christian cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 16 offensive boards in the game. They have only had more offensive rebounds once in a game this season – on Nov. 2 against St. Cloud State – when they had 17 in a game they lost.
» Najeeb Muhammad led the Chaparrals with a game-high 21 points. It is his fourth time with 20 or more points this season and the third time he has led the Chaps in scoring.
» Ty Caswell nabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. It is his second double-figure rebound game of the season.

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