#LSCmbb: Duncan’s late heroics completes Lubbock Christian's comeback over Texas A&M International - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content
Trevor Fleeman

Men's Basketball

#LSCmbb: Duncan’s late heroics completes Lubbock Christian's comeback over Texas A&M International

Championship Central
 
By NICK EATMAN
 
            FRISCO, Texas – With five minutes to play in Saturday’s LSC Championship semifinal game, Lubbock Christian freshman Ethan Duncan had two points and his team trailed by six points as they had for most of the game.
            But that’s when the LSC Freshman of the Year took over and put the Chaps on his back, scoring 10 points down the stretch, including two huge 3-pointers that lifted LCU to a dramatic 50-48 win over Texas A&M International.
            Still, despite Duncan’s go-ahead 3-pointer from about 30-feet out with 18 seconds to play, the Dustdevils had a chance to tie or win the game. After a timeout, Jaylen Thompson tried to work for a good look but his turnaround look bounced off the front rim at the buzzer, giving LCU a wild comeback win.
            LCU, the No. 3 seed, advances to Sunday’s final against the winner of ENMU/Cameron at 1 p.m. at Comerica Center. For the Dustdevils, the No. 7 seed that knocked off DBU on Thursday, the season will likely end with an 18-13 record.
            TAMIU led for over 37 minutes of action, and had a 13-point lead with 16:15 to play. And for most of the second half, the Dustdevils stayed in command, even leading by 11 (44-33) with 6:16 to play.
            But that’s when the Chaps went to work, scoring five straight points on a layup by Tiras Morton and a 3-pointer from Ty Caswell.
            Duncan extended the LCU run to 7-0 on a pair of free throws, giving him just four points in the game with 4:34 to play.
            TAMIU’s Olaverr Camacho pushed the lead to six on a layup but Duncan answered with a 30-foot 3-pointer from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down. Duncan’s 3-pointer cut the lead to three and then LCU’s Najeeb Muhammad made a driving layup with 2:01 to play. Another miss by the Dustdevils gave LCU to claim its first lead since early in the game and Duncan hit a floater in the lane for a 47-46 lead.
            TAMIU wasn’t done as Thompson scored in the paint with 38 seconds left. But Duncan wasn’t done, answering with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 18 seconds on the clock, which proved to be the final bucket of the game.
            Duncan finished with 12 points, but Kurt Wegscheider led the team in scoring with 13 and Morton had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
            TAMIU got 17 points from John Achebe and 12 points and 11 rebounds from Thompson.
             
LCU Notes:
  • Duncan leads the LSC in 3-point percentage .436 and finished 2-of-3, with both of the shots occurring in the final three minutes.
  • The 50 points scored in the lowest for LCU in a game this season. The Chaps’ previous low was 59 in a loss to Colorado School on Mines back on Nov. 9 (61-59).
  • LCU’s 50 points is the fewest to win an LSC Championship semifinal game since 1982 when former conference member Stephen F. Austin beat Angelo State 43-40.
  • The Chaps were last in the conference in rebounding at 31.2 in the regular season. And although they’ve failed to even hit their average with 29 and 30 boards in the last two games, they’ve still managed to win.
  • LCU is now 5-4 all-time in the LSC Championship and will play for its first tournament title on the men’s side.

TAMIU Notes:
  • The Dustdevils were tied for last in the LSC in 3-point makes per game, hitting only 5.8 per game and finished 4-of-18 on Saturday.
  • TAMIU was last in the LSC in free-throw shooting, making just 68.6 percent, but made 10 of 12 attempts on Saturday.
  • The Dustdevils made quite an impression in their first-ever trip to the LSC Championships, upsetting No. 2 DBU on Thursday before a last-second loss to No. 3 LCU. TAMIU is now 1-1 all-time in the tournament.