Lubbock Christian University Athletics

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (November 1, 2026) — Lubbock Christian suffered their first loss of the 2026-27 season, falling to Central Washington 74-62 on Sunday at Nicholson Arena. The Chaparrals finished with a 29-20 rebounding edge and 32 points in the paint, but committed 16 turnovers while the Wildcats made 10 3-pointers.

The Chaps head back to Texas 2-1 overall. The Wildcats improve to 2-1 overall.

Lubbock Christian spent the first half working out of an early hole after the Wildcats hit three early three-pointers and built a 15-2 lead just over four minutes into the game. 

Hayden Abdullah scored the Chaps' first basket, and DeAndre Lott and Devin Whitten followed with points before Leo Nordberg's three-pointer cut the deficit to 10 at the 12:01 mark. The Chaparrals created second chances with four offensive rebounds and held a 17-10 rebounding edge in the half, but 10 turnovers and a 1-for-6 mark at the free-throw line limited their ability to close the gap. 

Abdullah added a three-pointer at 5:18 and Lott scored five late points, including a putback with under two minutes to play in the half, but the Wildcats answered enough to take a 15 point lead

Brendan Ballard had an early dunk and Abdullah scored in transition after Ballard's steal to cut the CWU lead to 13, but the host team offense started firing again and was up by 19 at the 13:26 mark. 

The Wildcats pushed the score to 56-35 by 10:54, but the Chaparrals kept getting to the line through Lott and Charlie Onana before Ballard's layup at 8:42. The Chaps were able to put together an 8-0 run, with Lott hitting a 3-pointer, Leo Nordberg adding a transition three and then converting a steal into a layup to make it 61-48 with 4:58 left, but they never cut the deficit back to single-digits. LCU outscored CWU 38-35 in the second half, but it was not enough to secure the win.

GAME NOTES: 
- The Chaparrals turned the ball over 16 times in the loss, which was their most in a game this season. They only turned the ball over 16 or more times twice all of last season
- Guard Lott led the team in scoring for the second time in the first three games, and the freshman played all 40 minutes
- Fellow freshmen Tookie Johnson and Luke Modersohn saw their first collegiate playing time in the game
- Forward Ballard scored 14 points, joining Lott as the only Chap player to reach double figures in all three games on the opening weekend
- The Chaps shot just 26.3% (5-for-19) from 3-point range. They shot worse than that only four times during the 2025-26 season

NEXT UP: 
Lubbock Christian will be off next weekend before heading to Colorado for a pair of games Nov. 13-14.