Dallas Baptist (8-3, 2-1 Heartland) at Lubbock Christian (5-4, 2-0 Heartland)
Monday, January 5 at 7 p.m.
Lubbock, Texas (Rip Griffin Center)
 
About Dallas Baptist
The Patriots are 2-1 within the Heartland Conference, with their lone loss coming against preseason No. 1 Arkansas-Fort Smith. DBU's high-scoring offense is producing over 85 points per game, led by redshirt sophomore forward Myles Johnson (18.2 ppg), redshirt junior forward Jonathan Perry (11.5) and junior forward Tim Simmons (10.9).
 
History between Chaps and Patriots
DBU leads the all-time series, 23-14, between the two clubs. The teams spilt last season, each recording a win at home.
 
Last meeting between LCU and DBU
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 6, 2014) – Anthony Brancato recorded his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Eli Baker notched 16 points and Jeremy Ford added a dozen in a 74-52 win over Dallas Baptist Thursday night at the Rip Griffin Center, but it was the defense of Lubbock Christian that stifled the Patriots' offense, holding the Patriots to a season-low point total and allowing the fewest amount of points by the Chaps this season. 
LCU (12-6, 7-5 Heartland) held the Heartland Conference's leading scorer, Jonathan Perry, to eight points below his average to finish with 10, the lone double-figure scorer for DBU (7-12, 4-8 Heartland). The Chaps outrebounded the Patriots 35-19, and 20 of LCU's 28 field goals were scored on an assist. The contest featured many shots from deep, with 11 of DBU's 19 total field goals coming from beyond the and seven of the Chaps' first 14 baskets originating from downtown.
Within the first 40 seconds of the game, a 15-foot jumper by Baker and a three-pointer by Ford put the Chaps up 5-0, but the team quickly went cold until six minutes later when another three by Ford knotted the score at 8-8. Baker converted back-to-back three-point plays with strong moves in the paint to give the Chaps a 24-16 with 6:27 to play in the half. The lead grew to 34-21 on a layup by Brancato before the Patriots closed the gap to 37-29 on a jumper by Jason Gentry for the final bucket of the half.
A three-pointer by DBU's Cory Carden opened the second stanza to ignite the Patriots and slice the Chap advantage to five points, but a jumper from the reigning Heartland Conference Player of the Week, Tyler Rogers, and a baby hook by Beau Durham pushed the lead to 43-32, and a fast break dunk by Rogers added two more with 16:19 remaining.
An and-one play by Perry pulled the Patriots to within 10 at the 15:43 mark, but the Chaps went on a 14-0 run, led by five points from Brancato, to push LCU's lead to 59-35 with 8:19 to play. Ford's fourth three-pointer with 5:35 on the clock tied his season-high and gave LCU a 65-39 lead and control the rest of the way.
The Chaps have now won their last six of seven conference contests, a feat that has only been accomplished one other time dating to the 2010-11 season.
 
Luckey leading offensive charge
Junior guard A.J. Luckey's 19.4 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 seven of its eight games, with a season-best 24 coming against Texas A&M Commerce in the season opener on November 14. Luckey is also contributing 3.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals on the year and leads the league in free throw percentage (83.8).
 
Impressive start in conference play
The Chaps, picked to finish sixth in the 11-team Heartland Conference, picked up a pair of victories during opening weekend of league play. LCU demolished the preseason number three pick, Texas A&M International, 73-55, and outlasted second-picked St. Mary's, 64-62. The Chaps and St. Edward's (4-0) are the only unbeatens in conference play.
 
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 three more rebounds per game. The Calhoun High School product is recording 10.4 points and a team-leading 6.3 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.
 
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 December 16 in the defeat of EC. Duncan is now 52-41 all-time during his tenure, including a 14-6 mark in Heartland play, which earned LCU a third-place finish last season with a 12-6 finish.
 
Chap win streak iced by Hardrockers
LUBBOCK, Texas (January 3, 2015) – Lubbock Christian led the entire first half against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology before relinquishing a one-point lead at halftime after a 10-0 run by SDSMT following the break before falling 81-73 to the Hardrockers on a wintry Saturday afternoon at the Rip Griffin Center, breaking the Chaps three-game win stretch.
A.J. Luckey registered a team-high 20 points, and Isaac Cardona totaled 15 points and a team-best six rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks. Although the Chaps totaled 22 steals against the Hardrockers which equated to 25 points off turnovers, SDSMT outrebounded LCU 35-26 and drained 17 more free throws.
The Chaps (5-4), coming off of two Heartland Conference wins before the break, built an early 16-5 lead within the first six minutes of the contest led by 11 Luckey points before the Hardrockers (4-12), playing in their fourth game within five days, closed the gap to within one, 34-33, at the half.
SDSMT opened the second stanza with two three-pointers by Philip Schanilec, a jumper by Travis Schock and a pair of free throws by Konor Kulas to string together a 10-0 run until a reverse layup by Cardona recorded the first Chap points following intermission.
A strong take by Marcus Arrington, who recorded a career and game-high 10 assists, and a three-point play by Cardona sliced the Hardrocker lead to 45-41 with just under 13 minutes to play. The Chaps then closed within three points on a putback by Ridrell Holman at the 11:09 mark.
A defensive hustle rebound by Luckey led to a Matthew Alford bucket on the other end to knot the game at 55-all, but the Hardrockers responded with an 11-1 spurt to jump ahead 66-55 with 4:40 to play.
A three-pointer by John Lewis cut the lead to 77-72 with 40 seconds left on the clock, but the Chaps were unable to connect on a free throw, a three-pointer and a jumper within the same possession, allowing SDSMT to hit one-of-two from the line to make it a two-possession game at 78-72 with 26 seconds remaining.
A layup and free throw by Schanilec, who scored 17 points above his season average of seven, put SDSMT up eight within the final 14 seconds sealed the game and win for the Hardrockers, giving them their third NCAA Division II road victory in school history.
For SDSMT, Schanilec scored a game-high 24 points, and Kulas tallied 23.