FRISCO, Texas (March 8, 2025) – Lubbock Christian trailed by as many as 16, but came all the way back, tying the game with six second left before winning 76-67 over West Texas A&M in overtime to advance to the Lone Star Conference Championship game.
 
It was the second straight overtime win for the Chaps (25-7) and their third this season. They will face a quick turnaround now, with tipoff for the title game against No. 1-seeded DBU set for 3:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Comerica Center.
 
Only two LCU players scored in double-figures, led by Ethan Duncan's career-high 37. The recently-named LSC Player of the Year started fairly slowly, scoring just six points on 3-8 shooting in the first half. In the second half though, the Chap offense was nearly all up to him, as he poured in 26 points on 9-15 shooting, including hitting the game-tying layup with six seconds left in regulation.
 
The mark broke Duncan's previous high of 30, which he scored on Jan. 13, 2024 against Angelo State. Surprisingly, he did almost all of his scoring inside the arc, hitting only one three-pointer on four attempts.
 
In overtime it was Najeeb Muhammad who took over, scoring 10 points in the final five minutes on the way to his 18 for the game. Jaylen Thompson added in eight points along with three steals and two blocks, and Sean Murphy led the team in rebounding with six.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lubbock Christian struggled out of the gate, shooting just 34.6 percent in the opening 20 minutes, including 1-5 from behind the arc. The Chaps had a brief lead of 4-2 at the 18:11 mark. It would be the last time they led until the overtime period.
 
The Buffs weren't much better from behind the arc in the first half but did shoot 42.9 percent from the field, allowing them to build a significant lead. They got ahead by double-figures for the first time at the 11:31 mark. LCU briefly cut it back to single-digits, but was down by 16 – their largest deficit – with 5:45 left to go.
 
WT went cold at that point, going without a made field goal over the next five minutes, but the Chaps could only cut the deficit back to 10, and WT beat the buzzer with a layup to lead by 12 at the break.
 
Even with Duncan's takeover, the Chaps still trailed by 12 with 10:37 left in regulation. LCU briefly cut it to six three minutes later, but West Texas A&M stretched it back out to 12 with just under eight minutes remaining. The Buffs still seemed in control with a seven-point lead at the 3:14 mark with both teams in the bonus, but Thompson and Muhammad hit buckets and WT's Ahamed Mohammed went 1-4 at the free throw line, setting up Duncan's game-tying layup to force the extra period.
 
On each of LCU's first two possessions in overtime, Najeeb Muhammad made a layup and was fouled for three-point plays. He scored four more points in the period, Thompson hit a layup and Duncan closed out the win with four makes at the free throw line, sending the Chaps to the Championship Game.
 
GAME NOTES
» LCU is the first team in LSC Tournament history to win two overtime games.
» Duncan, Muhammad, and Thompson combined to account for 83 percent of the Chaparral points, including all 53 points that were scored after halftime.
» When he scored his 21^st point of the night, Duncan also reached the 1000-point mark for his LCU career. He is the third different Chap to cross the 1000-point threshold this season.
» Duncan's 37 points were the most by an LCU player in a single game since Parker Hicks set the program record with 50 on Feb. 8, 2022.
» This is the second-straight season the Chaps have advance to the championship game, and they are now 7-5 all-time in LSC Tournament play.
» In the women's tournament, the No. 2-seeded Lady Chaps also advanced to the title contest, where they will take on the No. 1-seeded Texas Woman's at 1 p.m. It is the first time since 2016 that both the men's and women's championship games will feature the top two seeds.