Athletic Report
December 19, 2001

LCU SCORES FINAL SIX POINTS
FOR 74-73 WIN OVER GREYHOUNDS
PORTALES, NM — Junior forward Maurice Turner hit a field goal with 12 seconds left as, Lubbock Christian University rallied in the final minute to defeat visiting Eastern New Mexico University, 74-73, at the Rip Griffin Center on Saturday, Dec. 15. LCU improved to 5-1 with the win, while ENMU fell to 4-3.

The Greyhounds led 73-68 with 1:07 remaining, after junior forward Cedric Palmer (Houston, TX/McLennan C.C.) scored on a layup assisted by Jonathan Cooper (Jr., G, Richton Park, IL/Chaffey College). LCU cut the deficit to three points, 73-70, on a basket with 49 seconds left.

Lubbock Christian then forced four consecutive turnovers by the Greyhounds. The first occurred under the LCU basket when ENMU in-bounded the ball. Dan Omusinde stole the ball from Rudy Charles (So., G, Las Vegas, NV/Durango H.S.) and scored on a layup with 0:40 to go.

Cooper and John Flippen, LCU’s 7’2” center, exchanged turnovers, and ENMU had the ball underneath the Chaparral’s basket with 33 seconds left. Charles received the ball in the corner, and was double-teamed. A 5-second closely-guarded call gave LCU the ball with 0:27 remaining.

Turner hit the winning free throws when Eastern fouled with 15 seconds left. Even so, the Hounds trailed by just a single point, 74-73. On the ensuing play, Rashad Sullivan (Jr., G, Enid, OK/Rose State College) received the ball and headed down the sideline, but stepped out of bounds due to defensive pressure with about nine seconds left.
ENMU then fouled Rick Henderson with eight seconds left. Henderson missed both free throws, giving Eastern a final chance.

Charles brought the ball down the court under double-coverage, then nearly lost the ball as he cut across the three-point arc. He recovered the ball, and passed to Jon Belt (Jr., F, Broken Arrow, OK/NE Oklahoma A&M), who shot from about 15 feet with 0:03 left. Omusinde blocked the shot, but Belt grabbed the rebound. He shot again, but the ball bounced off the rim and officials ruled the shot was release after time expired.

Eastern started quickly in the opening minutes. Cooper scored the Greyhounds’ first six points, giving ENMU a 6-2 lead with 18:09 left in the half. The Hounds increased their lead to 12-4 at the 15:14 mark, and led 21-15 with 8:52 remaining in the period.

LCU then went on an 11-0 run to take a 26-21 lead with 5:22 on the clock. The Chaps also led, 32-27, heading into the final minute of the half. After Eastern cut the deficit to three points on a basket Joel Simpson (Jr., F, Detroit,MI/Kilgore College) with 0:41 left, LCU ran down the shot clock and scored on an open layup by Chris Roberts at the 0:07 mark.

The Chaps led 34-29 at the break, and took a seven point lead, 41-34, with 14:16 remaining in the game. Eastern regained the lead, 51-50, with 9:18 to go, on a basket by Cooper. LCU scored the next five points for a 55-51 lead, but the Greyhounds countered with a 7-0 run, and held a 58-55 advantage with 7:05 remaining. The Hounds led by six points, 63-57 with 5:10 left.

ENMU led 69-64 and 71-66 with 2:47 and 2:04 left, following field goals by Cooper, but Flippen answered with baskets for LCU both times. Palmer’s basket with 1:07 on the clock gave ENMU its final 5-point lead, 73-68. The Chaps outscored the Hounds 6-0 the rest of the way.

Henderson led Lubbock Christian with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Turner added 12 points, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Flippen and Jeremy Price each contributed 10 points. Flippen and Roberts each grabbed 5 rebounds to tie Henderson and Turner for LCU’s lead on the glass.

Cooper finished with a game-high 19 points for ENMU on 8 of 12 field goals and 2 for 2 at the line. He also grabbed 5 board, earned 5 assists and was 1 of 1 on 3-point shots. Cooper has scored at least 15 points in all seven games this season.

Palmer scored 16 points, was 6 of 11 from the floor, and hauled down 8 rebounds. Charles scored 11 points, and Simpson recorded 7 rebounds. The Greyhounds shot 51.6% in the second half (16 of 31).

ENMU shot 45.8% for the game (27 of 59), but committed 20 turnovers and had 6 shots blocked by LCU. The Chaps converted 42.9% (27 of 63) from the field, including 44.4% in the second half (12 of 27). LCU lost the ball 15 times, but did not have a shot blocked.

The Greyhounds are idle until Dec. 29, when they travel to Goodwell, Okla., to take on Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (MST).