WICHITA FALLS, Texas (January 8, 2026) — Lubbock Christian built a big lead and held off a late comeback attempt to win 73-68 over Midwestern State on Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
LCU led by 10 at halftime and as many as 18 in the second half before MSU made their push, but Lubbock Christian prevailed thanks to a dearth of turnovers and 10 made three-pointers.
The Chaps improved to 15-2 overall and 6-1 in Lone Star competition. MSU is now 4-9 overall and 2-4 in the Lone Star standings.
Amondo Miller Jr. hit a three on LCU's first possession to set the tone for a strong-shooting first half that saw the Chaps hit 45.7 percent of their shot attempts. Midwestern State kept it close early though, and led briefly 8-7, but
Lucas Mercandino's basket at the 16:29 mark sparked a 6-0 run for the Chaps, who would not trail the rest of the way.
The Mustangs did cut the gap to just one with less than 10 minutes left in the opening period and tied the game at 26-all at the 5:46 mark. But LCU closed the half on a 9-2 run and led by double-digits as the teams went to the locker rooms.
Miller Jr. and
Alex Anamekwe drilled back-to-back three-pointers just over five minutes into the second half as part of an 8-0 Chap burst that gave LCU its largest lead of the game of 18 points. After that run though, Lubbock Christian went ice cold, failing to score a point for the next 6:56, while MSU scored 11 straight and cut the game to seven.
Kendall Dow, who had 11 of his 19 points in the second half, snapped the cold streak with a layup at the 6:34 mark, but MSU kept pushing and was down only five at the 5:50 mark. Mercandino's three-pointer at the 3:31 mark got the Chaps up by double-figures again, but still the Mustangs did not give up.
Their comeback efforts proved too little, too late though, as LCU hit enough of their free throws in the final two minutes to get their sixth consecutive win.
Amondo Miller Jr. scored 20 points, including three 3-pointers, and added seven assists.
Kendall Dow contributed 19 points, converting 6 of 7 free throws.
Leo Nordberg recorded two steals and four assists.
Antonio Pusateri collected nine rebounds and posted two blocks.
GAME NOTES:
- Miller Jr. reached the 20-point mark for the 10th time this season, shooting 50 percent both from the field and behind the arc.
- The Chaps shot a season-low 59.1 percent from the free throw line, with only
Lucas Mercandino (3-3) making all of his attempts.
- Miller Jr. had a career-high seven assists in the game. He is the first player in the Chaparrals' NCAA era (since 2014) with at least 20 points, at least eight rebounds, and at least seven assists.
- The Chaps shot 35.7 percent from behind the arc, making 10 of their 28 attempts. It is their first game with double-digit made three-pointers since Nov. 22, and their sixth game with at least 10 three-pointers this season.
- Lubbock Christian had just four turnovers in the game, marking the first time they had fewer than five in a game since Feb. 8, 2024, against Angelo State, when they also had four.
NEXT UP:
The Chaparrals are off on Saturday, but will return to the court a week from today, hosting a ranked West Texas A&M team at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 at the Rip Griffin Center.
