WICHITA FALLS, Texas (February 27, 2025) – Lubbock Christian battled hard, but came up short in a 67-56 loss to Midwestern State on Thursday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

The Chaparrals (22-7, 17-4) had two players score in double figures, led by Wichita Falls native Ty Caswell, who had 16 points. Sean Murphy tacked on 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Najeeb Muhammad added nine points, six rebounds and three blocks.
 
Midwestern State won the game on the offensive glass. The rebounds on the offensive end were actually almost even, with LCU grabbing 11 and MSU 12, but the Mustangs turned theirs into 18 second chance points, while the Chaps got just eight.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth battle early and when they were behind 21-17, Lubbock Christian went on an 8-0 run, culminating in a three from Caswell, to take a 25-21 lead just before the break. The Mustangs closed the gap with a three-pointer of their own, and Ethan Duncan's missed runner at the buzzer sent the teams into the break with just one point separating them.
 
The Chaparrals struggled shooting the ball in the opening 20 minutes, hitting just 35.5 percent from the field, including only 23.1 percent from beyond the arc. MSU actually shot even worse overall at 32.3 percent, but was 4-for-8 on three-point attempts.
 
It was tight again early in the second half, with neither team leading by more than four and LCU leading by two at the 8:02 mark after a pair of Murphy free throws. Midwestern State hit a three on their ensuing trip down the floor and outscored the Chaparrals 22-9 the rest of the way to hand Lubbock Christian the 67-56 loss.
 
The loss stopped LCU's 10-game win streak while extending MSU streak to eight. The Chaps will have a chance to return the favor at 3 p.m. on Saturday when the two teams rematch inside the Rip Griffin Center. The game will decide the winner of the LSC's West Division.
 
GAME NOTES
» Ty Caswell's game-high 16 points marked the fifth time this season he has led the Chaps in scoring. He is now 14 points shy of 1000 in his collegiate career.
» The Chaparrals were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, matching their season-high with five blocks. Najeeb Muhammad's three blocks are a career-high, marking his first time ever with more than one block in a game.
» Lubbock Christian turned the ball over only six times in the game, but the Mustangs turned those into 10 points. MSU turned it over 10 times, but the Chaps only converted them into four points.
» Lubbock Christian got seven rebounds from both Sean Murphy and Amondo Miller Jr.

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