LAREDO, Texas (February 20, 2025) – Lubbock Christian started slow but poured it on in the second half on the way to an 80-70 victory over the Texas A&M International Dustdevils on Thursday in Laredo.
 
The Chaparrals (21-6, 16-3) shot just 37.9 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play, including 2-of-11 from behind the arc. The three-point shooting didn't improve much in the second half, but they shot a whopping 64.3 percent from the field to pull away from TAMIU.
 
LCU had four players score in double-figures, led by Sean Murphy, who had 17 points and four assists. Kendall Dow added a season-high 16 points from the bench, all of which came in the first half. Amondo Miller Jr. chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
Lubbock Christian pulled down 31 rebounds in Thursday's game compared to Texas A&M International's 21, led by Jaylen Thompson's 10 boards. Thompson, playing against his former team, also scored 10 points, giving him the first double-double of his LCU career. His last double-double was actually against the Chaps, when he scored 12 points and pulled down 11 boards on March 9 in the LSC Tournament.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 13-4, Lubbock Christian went on a 13-0 run with 14:15 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Trey Thompson, to take a 17-13 lead. TAMIU stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer and just a minute later, went on a 10-2 run of their own to go back on top by four.
 
The Chaps closed the half on a 7-0 run to go into the locker room leading by three. Lubbock Christian got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 23 of its 34 total points.
 
Following intermission, Lubbock Christian kept widening that lead, expanding it to 53-45 before going on an 8-0 run to go up 61-45 with 8:30 to go in the contest on a Najeeb Muhammad free throw.
 
TAMIU did not give up and actually cut the deficit back to just seven with 4:38 still left to play, but Murphy took over for the Chaps, scoring their next eight points all by himself. LCU went 4-4 at the free throw line and got a buck from Miller Jr. in the final three minutes to close out the win.
 
GAME NOTES
» Jaylen Thompson notched a double-double for the Chaparrals with 10 points and 10 rebounds. It was his first double-digit rebound performance of the season and just his second time to lead LCU in rebounding.
» Lubbock Christian tallied 17 total assists in the game. It is the 11^th time this season they have recorded at least 15 assists in a game.
» Kendall Dow scored 16 points off the bench. It is his most points in a single game since Dec. 31, 2023, when he scored a career-high 30 against Oklahoma City.
» Lubbock Christian had a 31-21 edge on the boards in the win. They are now 16-1 on the year when out-rebounding their opponent.