LCU men rally past No. 14 Angelo State
Winning at home Thursday night was a tough ask for the Lubbock Christian University men.
No. 14 Angelo State was the hottest team in the Lone Star Conference, bringing a nine-game win streak into the Rip Griffin Center. The Chaparrals trailed by 11 early in the second half, and they were still behind when one of their two top dogs fouled out with 3 1/2 minutes left.
But Rowan Mackenzie scored 22 points, young guards Kendall Dow and Aaron Gonzales contributed to a comeback and LCU pulled out a 67-66 victory. LCU (15-6, 11-4) won its fifth game in a row and dealt Angelo State (18-4, 14-2) its first loss since New Year's Day.
"Oh, man, that's a huge win right there," Gonzales said. "They'd only lost once. They're number one in conference, and being down ... I think we got down 11 in the second half. ... It's super important that we won that game, but then we've got to confirm it (by winning again) Saturday."
Najeeb Muhammad put LCU ahead 67-66 on a drive with 54.6 seconds left in the game. With 5.6 seconds to go, Angelo State had the ball to inbound in the front court. The Rams got it to leading scorer Kevon Godwin and cleared out. But Godwin lost the handle as he dribbled from the wing toward the paint, Mackenzie came up with the loose ball and the Rams fouled with 2.5 seconds left.
Mackenzie missed the first free throw, and LCU called timeout. Mackenzie missed again, Chaps center Fletcher McDonald batted the rebound high into the air and Gonzales caught it as time ran out.
"It's special," Mackenzie said. "I mean, they're a great team. They've got good depth, but we kind of showed that we have a lot of depth. We had a lot of players come and make big plays."
Godwin finished with 20 points and six assists. Former South Plains College forward Fredelin De La Cruz gave the Rams 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Gonzales and Dow scored 11 apiece for LCU, and Kurt Wegscheider had 10. Russell Harrison fouled out with 3:25 left and the Chaps down 64-60, their rally seeming to have fizzled. On the next two possessions, though, Gonzales nailed a 3-point goal from the corner and found Wegscheider cutting to the basket to give LCU a 65-64 lead.
Angelo State answered right away with point guard Willie Guy finding Godwin on a backdoor cut with 1:06 to go, but those were the Rams' last points.
The Rams led 47-36 before LCU made a 10-2 run in which Mackenzie and Dow scored five points apiece.
Gonzales was scoreless at halftime but came alive with three 3s, one tying it 54-54 with 7:32 left. Shortly thereafter, the lead changed hands six times in less than two minutes.
"I was just thinking I wasn't being productive in the first half," Gonzales said. "I was like, 'If I get the ball, I've just got to shoot it.' When I'm not thinking about it, that's when they're going in and falling."
Wayland women 97
Central Christian 52
PLAINVIEW — Jenna Cooper-Jackson and Kaitlyn Edgemon scored 20 and 17 points, respectively, helping Wayland Baptist overpower winless Central Christian in Sooner Athletic Conference action at Hutcherson Center.
Ellie Bruffey chipped in 11 points for the Flying Queens (14-9, 10-7).
Wayland men 82
Central Christian 52
PLAINVIEW — D'Michael Bellfield had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Wayland Baptist ran its win streak to seven by dispatching SAC foe Central Christian.
Parrish Hewitt and Reece Spencer added 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Pioneers (17-6, 12-5), who shot 56 percent from the field.
SATURDAY'S AREA SCHEDULE
Women
University of Texas of the Permian Basin (10-12, 7-9) at Lubbock Christian University (15-8, 10-5), 1 p.m.
Langston (13-10, 8-9) at Wayland Baptist (14-9, 10-7), 2 p.m.
Midland College (10-11, 5-2) at South Plains College (12-7, 6-0), 2 p.m.
Men
University of Texas of the Permian Basin (11-14, 5-11) at Lubbock Christian University (15-6, 11-4), 3 p.m.
No. 3 Langston (22-1, 16-1) at Wayland Baptist (17-6, 12-5), 4 p.m.
Midland College (18-4, 4-4) at No. 11 South Plains College (17-4, 5-2), 4 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Area college roundup: LCU men rally past No. 14 Angelo State
