Texas A&M International (5-3, 0-0 Heartland) at Lubbock Christian (3-3, 0-0 Heartland)
Thursday, December 18 at 8 p.m.
Lubbock, Texas (Rip Griffin Center)
 
Live Scoring / Online Video / Online Audio: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/lcu.portal    
TV: KJTV Fox 34 News Now                 
Radio: AM950/100.7FM              
Game Notes: http://lcuchaps.com/documents/2014/12/18/1415_MBB_12_18_TAMIU.pdf
 
About Texas A&M International
The Dustdevils began the 2014-15 season 0-2 but have since won five of their last six contests, which included two victories against Southwestern Adventist. TAMIU is led by senior guard Patrick Carlson's 16.5 points per game and senior forward Vadal Faniel's 13.6 ppg and 7.6 rebounds.
 
History between Chaps and Dustdevils
Last season marked the first meetings between the two squads with each team taking a victory. The Chaps lost at home on January 4 following a controversial call in the final seconds but redeemed the loss in Laredo on February 16 with a nine-point victory.
 
Last meeting of LCU and TAMIU
LAREDO, Texas (February 13, 2014) – Lubbock Christian took down the top team in the Heartland Conference on Thursday night at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building, defeating Texas A&M International 75-66, directed by 17 points, 13 rebounds and five steals from Eli Baker, 17 points from Anthony Brancato and 13 by Jeremy Ford to extend the Chaps' win streak to six games. 
Baker's 13 boards tied a season-high and his five steals were a career-high, while Ford's 13 points matched a career-best. This defeat of the Dustdevils (18-6, 11-3) avenges an 83-82 LCU (14-6, 9-5) loss back on January 4 in Lubbock in which TAMIU received a beneficial call with just seconds remaining in the game to preserve the Dustdevil win.
Tyler Rogers was a catalyst in the second half, scoring his nine points after the break, coming alive at the 13:09 mark by banking in a jumper while being fouled and making the free throw to knot the game at 42-all. A minute later, Rogers came up with a steal and eventually found Isaac Cardona in the lane after misses by Ford and Baker. On the next possession, Baker corralled a rebound and handed the ball off to Rogers who went coast-to-coast for a layup and a 49-44 Chap lead with 10:02 to play.
TAMIU's Kevin Jefferson, Jr., hit two free throws to cut the gap to two, but Rogers knocked down four straight from the charity stripe to put the Chaps up 53-46. With 7:17 to go, Ford was whistled for a foul, and Johnel Grey stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws. A few plays later, Head Coach Todd Duncan realized the wrong Dustdevil shot the two attempts, and after much deliberation by the officials, Grey's free throws were nullified and Matthew Culliver, Jr., was sent to the line. More confusion ensued with Culliver missing the first attempt and being allowed two more, but the 74 percent shooter clanged all three tries, leaving the score 55-49 in favor of the Chaps.
With the shot clock winding down and 3:56 left in the game, Ford hit a baseline jumper to put the Chaps up 59-51. A layup by Dustdevil Damal Donaldson put TAMIU to within six, but four Ford free throws and an offensive putback by Beau Durham gave LCU its first double-digit lead of the game at 65-55 with 1:45 left to play. In the final minutes of the game, the Chaps went 14-of-18 from the line to seal the victory and put a damper on TAMIU's Spirit Week.
The first half was tightly contested, with the largest margin of the period coming on a three-pointer by Deonnte Breedlove for a 20-14 Dustdevil lead 10 minutes into the contest. The Chaps scored eight unanswered points and took the lead on an offensive putback by Cardona with eight minutes left in the half. A layup and three-pointer by Brancato put the Chaps up 28-23 until Grey fired back with the same offensive output to tie things up at 28-28. Trailing 31-28 after a Jefferson, Jr., shot from deep, LCU ended the half on a Cardona layup, a Ford three and a Baker putback to put the Chaps up 35-31.
Grey led all scorers with 19 points, Jefferson, Jr., recorded 16 and Donaldson added 15.
 
Luckey leading offensive charge
Junior guard A.J. Luckey's 20 ppg provides over a quarter of the Chaps points this season and ranks as the fourth highest in the Heartland. The Dallas native has led the team in scoring in five of its six games, with a season-best 24 coming against Texas A&M Commerce in the season opener on November 14. Luckey is also contributing 3.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals on the year.
 
Sophomore surge for Cardona
Forward Isaac Cardona has stepped up during his second season as a Chap, nearly doubling his point average and hauling in almost four more rebounds per game. The Calhoun High School product is recording 11.3 points and 6.8 boards for the Chaps, compared to 5.9 and 3.0 in 2013-14. This season, Cardona posted a career-high 21 points and nine caroms in a 72-55 victory over McMurry on November 25. He also leads the team in field goal percentage at .510.
 
Season and career debuts
In Tuesday's 74-50 win over Ecclesia, four Chaps made their first 2014-15 season appearance and two players hit the LCU floor for the first time. Redshirt freshman Lucas Shuster and newcomer John Lewis made an introduction to the box score with Schuster reeling in a rebound and Lewis collecting four points and two boards. In addition, sophomores Ondrej Gargula and Jacob Dawson were finally cleared to play after suffering injuries early on.
 
Duncan hits half-century mark
Head coach Todd Duncan earned win number 50 win during his fourth season at the helm of the Chaps on Tuesday in the defeat of EC. Duncan is now 50-40 all-time during his tenure, including a 12-6 mark in Heartland play, which earned LCU a third-place finish last season.
 
Chaps stymie Royals, improve to .500
LUBBOCK, Texas (December 16, 2014) – While Lubbock Christian's defense keyed a 74-50 victory over Ecclesia on Tuesday night at the Rip Griffin Center, three Chaps posted double-figures in scoring, led by a game-high 16 points from A.J. Luckey, along with a career-high 15 by Matt Alford and 11 from Isaac Cardona.
LCU (3-3) held Ecclesia (4-9) to 29-percent shooting overall, allowing only four field goals throughout the entire first half. The Chaps also forced the Royals into 21 turnovers which turned into 37 LCU points and outscored EC in the paint, 32-8.
Although the Chaps led by as many as 30 in the second half, LCU never really took control until the 6:46 mark of the first stanza. An offensive board by Beau Durham resulted in a three-pointer by Luckey from the baseline for a 30-15 advantage. Luckey then added another trey, and Durham converted a shot in the paint to extend the lead to 20 with under six minutes on the clock.
After doubling up the Royals with a halftime score of 42-21, the Chaps opened the second half with a 12-3 run for their largest lead at 54-24. LCU then hit a drought, going over eight minutes without a field goal, while Ecclesia went on a tear, hitting six-of-seven from the floor, including back-to-back three-pointers by Austin Burroughs to cut the lead to 55-37 with just under 10 minutes to play. Cardona came through with a bucket down low to end LCU's scoring deficiencies as the Chaps continued to increase their lead throughout the remaining minutes.
Two Chap players made their LCU debut against the Royals, with redshirt freshman entering the contest and recording a board, as well as midyear transfer John Lewis, who connected on his first two shots from the floor and finished with four points.
For Ecclesia, Wesley Bradford and Rashad Colbert each registered 11 points.