LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (1-0, 0-0 Heartland) at #10 Colorado School of Mines (1-0, 0-0 RMAC)
Saturday, November 14 at 8 p.m. CST
Golden, Colo. (Lockridge Arena)
Radio: AM950/100.7FM
Rogers inspires Chaps to win in season openerGolden, Colo. (November 13, 2015) – A passionate performance by
Tyler Rogers produced a game-high 17 points, and a 23-5 Lubbock Christian University run during the final seven minutes capped a 72-54 season-opening victory over Regis for the Chaparrals Friday night at the RMAC/Heartland Challenge inside Lockridge Arena on the campus of Colorado School of Mines.
The contest was the first in over a year for Rogers as he sat out last season as a redshirt and played tonight's game with emotion after a difficult week while still managing to hit eight of his 14 shots and reel in five rebounds.
Isaac Cardona added 16 points for the Chaps (1-0, 0-0 Heartland) while
Marcus Arrington flirted with a triple-double by stuffing the stat sheet with 11 points, a career and game-high 10 rebounds and eight assists.Â
A bucket by
Ridrell Holman at the 6:12 mark in the second half broke a 49-49 tie, and Holman then guided Rogers to a dunk for a 53-49 advantage. Arrington drained his third three-pointer of the night before Rogers hit a jumper, and
Matthew Alford contributed a pair of free throws to extend the Chap lead to double-digits at 60-49. Another dunk by Rogers and two three-point plays by Cardona, one by means of an and-one and the other via a three-pointer, finalized 21 unanswered LCU points.
The final margin was not indicative of the closeness throughout the game within the first 33 minutes. Regis (0-1, 0-0 RMAC) put up the first six points of the contest but never led by a larger margin the rest of the way. The Chaps used a 9-0 spurt, beginning with five successive points by
A.J. Luckey, to take a 24-18 lead with 3:54 to play in the first half and led by just as much at the break.
Another Cardona three-point play gave LCU a 43-33 advantage, and shot from beyond the arc by Marcos Shuster gave the Chaps their biggest lead up to that point at 46-33 with 13:56 left on the clock. Nine consecutive points by the Rangers sliced the lead to 46-42 with under 10 minutes to play, and moments later RU's Noah King added five points to knot the score at 49-49 before LCU would piece together their incredible run.
Chaps return majority of roster from 2014-15Lubbock Christian University brings back the bulk of players from last season including six Chaps that spent at least some time in the starting lineup. The only key loss for LCU is of early graduate, forward Beau Durham, who averaged 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. A.J. Luckey, Isaac Cardona, Marcos Schuster, Ridrell Holman, Matthew Alford and Marcus Arrington all played the greater part of their games as starters.Â
All-Heartland selections Luckey and Cardona back for LCUÂ Last season, Luckey set single game school and conference records in made free throws (23) and attempts (30) in a win against Texas-Permian Basin on his way to a career-high 36 points on January 19. His 23 made free throws ranked as the second-highest in NCAA Division II last season. The then-junior averaged 17.1 points per game while scoring in double figures in 21 games, totaling 20-plus points in 10 contests and recording over 30 points on two occasions. The Dallas native twice grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and sank a career-best five three pointers in a win at Oklahoma Panhandle on January 29.Cardona, the only Chap to start all 27 contests, finished the 2014-15 season leading LCU in rebounds with a total of 145 for an average of 5.4 per game and was second in scoring behind Luckey at 13.4. The then-sophomore reeled in a career-high 16 rebounds in a win against Arkansas-Fort Smith on January 17 and scored a career-best 26 points in the final game of the season at Texas A&M International on February 28. The Port Lavaca native totaled 19 double-digit scoring games while shooting nearly 60-percent from the field.Â
Four added to Chap basketball rosterLubbock, Texas (August 12, 2015) – Head coach Todd Duncan added four players to the Lubbock Christian men's basketball roster for the 2015-16 season, including a pair of transfers and two freshmen.Michael Grant joins the Chaps after spending two years at Abilene Christian where he averaged 5.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, one assist and one steal a game as a freshman. The junior guard returns home to Lubbock, as he attended nearby Frenship High School during his freshman and sophomore years, where he was voted All-District First Team, All-Region First Team and Texas Basketball Magazine All-State.Amarillo High product Hunter Ates was a two-time All-District Second Team pick for the Sandies. The small forward earned All-State Team Honorable Mention as a senior.Brennen Fowler of Smyer High School was a two-time District MVP, three-time All-Region First Team selection, two-time TABC All-State First Team pick and was the Lone Star Varsity Boys Basketball Player of the Year. The forward will also be a member of the Chap baseball team.Chuck Kendley of San Antonio Reagan High School was named All-District Honorable Mention his junior year and chosen to the All-District First Team his senior campaign. The forward was also a regional first teamer for the TABC and was chosen to play in the San Antonio Area Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Game.Â
Men's basketball predicted to finish third in the HeartlandWaco, Texas (October 6, 2015) – Lubbock Christian University men's basketball was chosen to finish in third place within the Heartland Conference the league announced Tuesday, as the poll was chosen by head coaches and sports information directors within the Heartland.Arkansas-Fort Smith was picked to win the championship, as the program received 14 first place votes. St. Mary's, the defending Heartland Conference regular season and tournament champion, was chosen second, followed by the Chaparrals and St. Edward's.The 2015-16 season will mark the first year the Heartland Conference has hosted an eight-team single elimination post season tournament, to be held March 4 - 6 at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Rogers State can compete for the Heartland Conference Championship during the regular season but is not eligible for postseason play due to their provisional NCAA Division II status.Â
MBB schedule set for '15-16Lubbock, Texas (July 29, 2015) – Head coach Todd Duncan has completed the 2015-16 Lubbock Christian men's basketball schedule, which will for the first time include the potential for postseason play within the NCAA for the Chaps.LCU's slate is comprised of 28 contests, 15 of which are at home and 13 on the road. Heartland Conference battles make up 22 of the games and will be determinate of which eight of the 10 eligible teams will earn a spot in the conference tournament, being held March 2-5 in Tulsa, Okla. The upcoming season will be the Chaps inaugural chance to compete in postseason play after receiving word that LCU has successfully completed its transition into NCAA Division II.The Chaps will begin the season at the RMAC/Heartland Challenge, hosted by Colorado School of Mines November 13-14 in Golden, Colo. LCU will open their agenda versus Regis University on the 13th followed by a contest against host team Mines the following day.The Rip Griffin Center will hold the Chaps' opening home contest on November 21 against Our Lady of the Lake and ensue with another four consecutive non-conference games, capped by a December 10 meeting with Lone Star member Angelo State.Heartland Conference play begins on December 17 when LCU travels to Texas A&M International and wraps up hosting TAMIU on February 27.The Chaps are coming off of a season in which they concluded with a mark of 16-12 and a third-place finish within the Heartland at 13-7.
