LUBBOCK, Texas – St. Edward's men's basketball surrendered 49 points in the second half of an 87-72 loss to the Lubbock Christian University Chapparals to open conference play. 
 
The Hilltoppers' frontcourt of LEWIS ROWE and JAMISON KAY combined for 41 points on an efficient 18-for-28 shooting, but Lubbock Christian outscored St. Edward's 33-9 from beyond the 3-point line and 24-9 from the free-throw line. 
 
St. Edward's dictated the terms early, going up nine in the first four minutes with a 7-0 run. Rowe set the tone with a layup off a MASON COURTNEY feed and a hook shot. Murphy answered with two free throws, but GAVINO RAMOS sparked the 7-0 run with a 3-pointer, followed by another Rowe bucket and Courtney's driving layup. 
 
The Hilltoppers kept going inside, finding Row for a hook shot and his eighth point in four minutes, and Kay answered a Caswell 3-pointer with a putback. 
 
Lubbock Christian fought back into the game with 3-pointers and free throws. Ty Caswell and Jaylen Thompson hit two 3-pointers each, and Amondo Miller Jr. added another. Najeeb Muhamad went to the free-throw line and hit all six attempts, and LCU shot 11-for-13 from the charity stripe to take a 38-35 lead at the break. 
 
Rowe led all scorers with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting at the half. Kay and Ramos added eight each. Thompson led Lubbock Christian with 10 points on four shots off the bench. Lubbock Christian took 17 3-point attempts in the half compared to five for St. Edward's. 
 
Courtney opened the second half with a short jumper on a feed from CONOR MCMANUS, but Lubbock Christian reeled off a 10-0 run. Ethan Duncan hit a 3-pointer, Miller found Murphy for a layup, and Muhamad hit a 3-pointer and pair of free throws to go up 48-37. Ramos answered with free throws, but Duncan responded with a 3-pointer and Murphy another layup. 
 
St. Edward's pulled within single digits twice more, getting a 3-pointer and short jumper from Kay at the 14:39 and 12:58 mark to pull within nine each time, but no closer after. 
 
Lubbock Christian shot 6-for-10 from deep after the break and assisted on 11 of its 15 made field goals, shooting 65.2 percent from the field in the second half. The Chaps also shot 13-for-16 from the free-throw line.
 
Rowe led St. Edward's with 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting. Kay added 17 points on 11 shots and grabbed six rebounds. Ramos and Courtney contributed 13 points each. Muhammed led Lubbock Christian with 20 points on nine shots, Miller added 18, and Thompson scored 16 off the bench. 
 
St. Edward's drops to 6-2 with the loss. The Hilltoppers will travel to Wichita Falls, Texas, to take on Midwestern State on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.