Championship Central
By NICK EATMAN
FRISCO, Texas – In a back-and-forth battle that needed more than 40 minutes, No. 22 Lubbock Christian hit just enough clutch free throws and got a couple of key stops in the final seconds to stave off Eastern New Mexico for a 79-78 win in the quarterfinals of the LSC Tournament.
Trailing by a point with 35 seconds left in overtime, LCU’s Jaylen Thompson charged the lane for an offensive rebound and was fouled on his putback attempt. Thompson hit both free throws for the 1-point lead.
On the other end, the Greyhounds got two shots up but couldn’t get either to fall. LCU got the ball and Ty Caswell went to the line for a 1-and-1 free throw with three seconds left. Despite Caswell’s miss, the Greyhounds could only get a halfcourt shot off that wasn’t close, giving the Chaps the one-point win.
LCU, the No. 2 seed, will advance to Saturday’s semifinals against No. 6 seed West Texas A&M. The Greyhounds, who were the defending LSC Tournament champions after beating LCU with a last-second shot at the buzzer, will now wait for a possible invite to the regional tournament. ENMU is currently 8th in the South Region.
LCU had four players in double figures, led by LSC Player of the Year Ethan Duncan, who had 18 points – all in regulation. Najeeb Muhammad had 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds, while Amondo Miller Jr. scored 14 and Sean Murphy added 12 and seven boards.
For ENMU, Austin Abrams came off the bench to score 21 points, including several clutch baskets at the end of regulation and then in overtime. Jose Murillo had 14 points and Cooper Jackson added 12.
The second half was a rollercoaster ride for both teams with LCU once holding a 10-point lead before the Greyhounds stormed back and led by as much as three. LCU kept regaining the lead and momentum, but ENMU wouldn’t go away.
At the end of regulation, both teams held the lead in the final minute. Austin Abrams hit a driving layup to give the Greyhounds a 68-67 lead with 58 seconds before Duncan hit a 28-foot 3-pointer with 33 seconds on the clock for a two-point lead. But Abrams came back to tie the game with another layup.
But with Duncan on the bench and LCU out of timeouts, they settled for a 3-pointer by Ty Caswell, who just missed and the game went to overtime.
LCU Notes:
- LCU went over .500 with a win Friday, improving to 6-5 all-time in LSC tournament games. LCU has now advanced to the semifinals for the fourth straight year.
- Ethan Duncan ranks second in the LSC in 3-pointers made per game, hitting 2.7. He was able to add to that with four triples beyond the arc.
- The LSC’s second-best free-throw shooter, Najeeb Muhammad hit all six attempts on Friday, improving on his .859 average.
- Muhammad leads the LSC in assist/turnover ratio. He had eight assists and just one turnover on Friday.
ENMU Notes:
- Returning to Frisco after winning last year’s tournament with a dramatic buzzer-beater 3-pointer in the championship game, ENMU couldn’t advance to the semifinals. It marked the second straight year when the defending champ was knocked out in the first round with an overtime loss. 2023 winner West Texas lost to Cameron in overtime in last year’s quarterfinals.
- Jose Murillo, the LSC’s leader in blocked shots (1.4 bpg) and field goal percentage (.673) was able to post three blocks and shot .600 from the floor on 6-of-10 shooting.
- Mario Whitely is third in the LSC with 8.8 rebounds per game and finished with nine.
- Austin Abrams hadn’t scored more than 13 points against and LSC opponent this year before scoring 21 against LCU – all in the second half.