Lubbock Christian (0-1, 0-0 Heartland) at #12 Tarleton State (1-0, 0-0 Lone Star)
Saturday, November 15 at 7 p.m.
Stephenville, Texas (Wisdom Gym)
 
About Tarleton State
The Texans opened up their season as well last night, defeating RMAC member 72-52 in the Texan Tip-Off Classic. TSU is ranked No. 12 in the country following a 28-3 season (12-2 Lone Star) where they advanced to the regional semifinals before falling to Midwestern State.
 
History between Chaps and Texans
LCU leads the all-time series over TSU, 15-8, dating to 1978. The Texans won the last matchup between the two squads, an 87-60 victory in Stephenville last season.
 
Big second half not enough for Chaps in season opening defeat
STEPHENVILLE, Texas (November 14, 2014) – Aided by 17-second half points from A.J. Luckey, Lubbock Christian outscored Texas A&M-Commerce after halftime by six but could not quite make up for a 13-point first half deficit in an 83-76 season opening loss to the Lions in the Texan Tip-Off Classic at Wisdom Gym on Friday afternoon.
Luckey came alive after being held without a field goal for the first 30 minutes of the contest, scoring all seven of his buckets following intermission and connected of eight of his 10 free throws to score a game-high 24 points. Beau Durham drained three of his six three-point attempts on his way to 13 points, while Matthew Alford, Ridrell Holman and Isaac Cardona each contributed 10 in the 2014-15 debut for the Chaps.
LCU (0-1, 0-0 Heartland) more than doubled their first half output, scoring 51 points in the second stanza compared to just 25 throughout the first 20 minutes. The Chaps mustered just six field goals before halftime but returned after the break to hit 21 of their 36 attempts at a 58-percent clip
TAMUC (1-0, 0-0 Lone Star), who defeated Texas A&M in an exhibition contest on November 5 and narrowly lost to Texas Tech three days later, received three first-place votes in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. Although the Lions never trailed in this contest and led by as many as 18 in each half, the Chaps kept finding a way to sneak back into the game. To open the second half, the Chaps put together a 10-3 run to pull within six on back-to-back baskets by Durham and Holman. TAMUC's Darrell Williams, a huge presence underneath, then scored two buckets and teammate Anthony Adams hit a jumper while being fouled by Luckey to push Commerce's lead back to a dozen at 47-35.
A layup by Scout Teal, his first bucket in a Chap uniform, closed the gap to 49-41 with under 14 minutes to play, but a three-pointer by De'Andre Carson pushed the Lion lead back to 52-41. A three-pointer and a pair of free throws by Christian Macauley extended Commerce's lead to 17 with 7:17 remaining.
Down 77-60 with 2:51 on the clock, Luckey scored a jumper and a layup before Marcos Schuster put his name in the scoring column with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 79-67. Luckey then took a pass from Schuster and drained a trey from the baseline while being fouled. The ensuing free throw was no good, but Alford scored in the paint on the next trip down to pull the Chaps to within 80-72 with 33 seconds to play. Cardona drove left moments later for a bucket and Luckey hit another layup with time expiring for the final points of the afternoon.
For LCU, Alford's 10 points were a career-high as were Durham's trio of three-pointers.
For the Lions, Williams collected the game's only double-double with 21 points and 10 boards.
 
Men's basketball expected to finish sixth
LUBBOCK, Texas (October 15, 2014) – Lubbock Christian men's basketball has been picked to finish sixth within the 11 teams competing in the Heartland Conference. Head Coach Todd Duncan led the Chaps to a 17-8 overall record last season, including a 10-4 mark in the Heartland during LCU's inaugural campaign for a third-place finish.
Last year's regular season champion Arkansas-Fort Smith was picked to win the conference for the fourth consecutive season, receiving 20 of the 22 first-place votes for a total of 239 points. St. Mary's and Texas A&M International each grabbed a single first-place vote to rank second and third, respectively, with point totals of 211 and 192. Texas-Permian Basin followed with 156, Rogers State was fifth with 131, narrowly edging out LCU's 128 point total. One point separated seventh place Dallas Baptist (107) from Newman (106), while St. Edward's was chosen ninth with 96 points, and Oklahoma Christian and Oklahoma Panhandle State rounded out the poll with 59 and 27 points, respectively.
For the first time, LCU, along with Rogers State and Oklahoma Christian, can compete for the Heartland Conference Championship throughout the regular season, but are not eligible for conference post-season play due to their provisional status within the NCAA.
The Chaps have the formidable task of replacing a 2013-14 senior class highlighted by All-Heartland Conference player Eli Baker and Honorable Mention Anthony Brancato. The duo combined for a third of the Chap offense and over 40-percent of the team's rebounds.
While the Chaps will be without the services of returning leader scorer junior Tyler Rogers who is recovering from surgery, LCU will look upon A.J. Luckey, a junior with an 11.5 career points per game average. Junior Beau Durham and sophomore Isaac Cardona will return size and a combined dozen points per contest along with six boards for an inside presence. Newcomers include guards Marcos Schuster of local Frenship High School and Broderick Perkins from Plano Senior HS, along with forwards Kendall Smith-Rodriguez, a Western Texas College transfer from Coronado High School, and Abernathy product Scout Teal.
 
MBB opens season Nov. 14-15
LUBBOCK, Texas (September 23, 2014) – Head men's basketball coach Todd Duncan has finalized the schedule for the 2014-15 season that includes 27 contests, 20 of which are Heartland Conference games.
The season's schedule is well-balanced, featuring 14 home contests and 13 away with the Chaps being on the road for no more than two consecutive games, and the longest home stretch highlights a trio of games prior to the holiday break in December.
The Chaps begin the season at the Texan Tip-Off Classic in Stephenville, Texas, hosted by Tarleton State. LCU will face Texas A&M - Commerce on November 14 at 2 p.m. and follow that up with a game against TSU the following day at 7 p.m.
LCU's home opener will be held November 22 at the Rip Griffin Center where the Chaps will host Hillsdale Freewill Baptist at 3 p.m. Heartland Conference play begins on December 18 at 8 p.m. when LCU hosts Texas A&M International.
The final home game for the Chaps will be February 21 at 3 p.m. against Texas - Permian Basin, and the season concludes on the road at TAMIU on February 28 at 3 p.m.
Because Lubbock Christian is in its provisional year of the NCAA Division II membership process, teams are unable to compete in the postseason conference tournament at the conclusion of the regular season.
The Chaps are coming off of a successful inaugural year in the Heartland, compiling a 12-6 conference record for third place in the league, and an overall record of 17-8.
 
AM950/100.7FM Is LCU's New Radio Home... 11 Heartland Games to Be Televised
LUBBOCK, Texas (November 12, 2014) – The Lubbock Christian University Athletic Department has announced their broadcast plans for both men's and women's basketball for online and on-air broadcasts for the 2014-2015 season, which tips off Friday for each team. New this season is a partnership with Ramar Communications for KJTV's AM950/100.7FM to serve as LCU's new radio flagship station, with an agreement for 11 televised games on Fox 34 News Now.
LCU is entering their first season in agreement with Ramar to exclusively carry all non-conflicting basketball contests on radio. The intention is to have all games air live on AM950/100.7FM, but conflicts may push games to Double T 104.3 (KTTU). Regardless of conflicts, all games will still air online through www.lcuchaps.com.
All weeknight Heartland Conference home games for LCU will be televised this season on Fox 34 News Now (over-the-air digital channel 34.2, Suddenlink 109) in high definition (HD). The games will be produced by Ramar and students of Lubbock Christian University. Television broadcast dates include:
12/18-Thursday vs. Texas A&M International University (Men & Women 6-10pm)
1/5-Monday vs. Dallas Baptist University (Men only 7-9pm)
1/15-Thursday vs. Rogers State University (Men & Women 6-10p)
1/29-Thursday vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State University (Men & Women 6-10p)
2/5-Thursday vs. Oklahoma Christian University (Men & Women 6-10p)
2/19-Thursday vs. St Edward's University (Men & Women 6-10p)
All LCU games for each men's and women's basketball is scheduled to be broadcasted this season, marking the third consecutive year that all men's and women's basketball games will be carried live. Stretch Internet, who serves as the online broadcast partner for LCU, will carry audio broadcasts online for each and every game through the new GameCentral 2.0 portal on www.lcuchaps.com. Every home game will also feature video broadcasts, live scoring and social media interaction through Stretch. Online audio and live scoring is free.
Online video broadcasts will continue for every home game and select road games. The price to watch a game online is $8 (per game) or video passes may be purchased at a rate of $20 per sport. Currently, 14 regular season games for each sport are guaranteed to be viewed online. Purchases can be made through the GameCentral 2.0 portal on the Chaps website.
The LCU broadcast team mainly consists of play-by-play broadcasters Chris Due and Scott Larson. Due has been with LCU working in the sports information office since 2007 and has been broadcasting LCU sporting events since 2006. He formerly spent 10 years working in pro hockey and broadcasting professional hockey and arena football, most notable locally with the Lubbock Cotton Kings. Larson is in his third season with LCU and also serves as the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance. He joined LCU from University of South Carolina Upstate, where he broadcasted various Upstate athletic events, including men's basketball for Upstate radio and on A-Sun.TV. Larson also broadcast various local high school sporting events.