Texas-Permian Basin (16-9, 11-6 Heartland) at Lubbock Christian (14-10, 11-6 Heartland)
Saturday, February 21 at 3 p.m.
Lubbock, Texas (Rip Griffin Center)
 
About Texas-Permian Basin
The Falcons are 16-9 overall and their 11-6 mark in conference play has them in a three-way tie for second place alongside the Chaps and Arkansas-Fort Smith.
 
History between Chaps and Falcons
LCU leads the all-time series, 9-2, with the pair of losses occurring last season, as UTPB was the only team to beat the Chaps twice during the year. An 80-68 Chap win during the 2011-12 season on November 5 gave Head Coach Todd Duncan his first win while leading Lubbock Christian.
 
Last meeting between LCU and UTPB
ODESSA, Texas (January 22, 2015) – A bucket by A.J. Luckey with four seconds remaining in overtime lifted Lubbock Christian to a 74-73 victory over Texas-Permian Basin on Thursday evening in the Falcon Dome, knocking UTPB down a notch in the Heartland Conference standings while the Chaps now share the top spot with St. Edward's.

In the extra period with 54 seconds to play and the game tied at 70-all, Luckey drove baseline, splitting two defenders and drawing the foul as he went up for a shot. His two successful attempts put LCU (10-6, 7-2 Heartland) up a pair, but the Falcons wore down the shot clock on the next possession which resulted in a three-pointer by Chris Griffin, allowing UTPB (11-6, 6-3 Heartland) to take the lead with 25 seconds to go. The Chaps burned some time before Luckey began his move from the left baseline and dribbled his way into the paint to softly put up a floater giving the Chaps the lead. UTPB quickly inbounded to Madison Turner who made a furious dash to the other end of the court, but his baseline jumper from the right side popped out to prompt a Chap victory.

The Chaps willed their way to a 41-37 advantage on the boards, including an impressive 18 offensive rebounds, over an imposing lineup of Division I transfers, and took care of the basketball by posting just seven turnovers. LCU struggled mightily from deep, hitting just 2-of-11, but conquered the free throw line on 22-of-24 shooting.

During regulation, Matthew Alford's drive to the hoop put LCU on top, 66-64, with 1:49 on the clock, and a travel by Griffin gave the Chaps another opportunity to add to their lead. With the shot clock winding down, Luckey was forced to take a tough shot which was partially blocked and gave UTPB possession. An offensive board and putback by UTPB's Codye Hatcher knotted the contest at 66-66 with 18 seconds to play. The Chaps held the ball until the final seconds for a last-second shot, but Luckey lost his handle, opening the door for the Falcons. However, UTPB was called for traveling, giving LCU the ball with 1.4 ticks on the clock. Marcos Schuster got a good look on a three-pointer, but his attempt rolled out, setting up the overtime period.

All five Chap starters scored in double figures, led by Luckey's 19. Isaac Cardona recorded 15, Schuster registered a dozen, Matt Alford totaled 11 and Marcus Arrington added 10.

For UTPB, Turner tallied 19 points which included five shots from beyond the arc, but fortunately for the Chaps, he missed his last six attempts from long range.
 
Cardona clutch in win against Hilltoppers
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 19, 2015) – A pair of free throws by Isaac Cardona with five seconds remaining allowed Lubbock Christian to squeak by St. Edward's, 60-59, and saved the Chaps from squandering a double-digit second half lead and kept them in a three-way tie for second place within the Heartland Conference.

SEU (18-7, 10-7 Heartland) held the Chaps (14-10, 11-7) without a field goal throughout the final four minutes of the contest and grabbed their initial lead since the 16:42 mark of the first half on a pair of free throws by Ramir Burton with 34 seconds to play. Ridrell Holman's baseline drive attempt fell short, forcing A.J. Luckey to foul, but Trey Lindsey's front end of his one-and-one attempt clanged off the front of the rim. Beau Durham corralled the ball with seven ticks remaining and the Chaps trailing by a single point.

LCU called a timeout and set up on the far baseline to inbound the ball. Cardona received a pass while Lindsey plowed through him, garnering a foul and a chance at the free throw line, where he calmly drained two of his game-high 22 points, giving the Chaps the one-point advantage. Following a timeout, the Hilltoppers drew up a full court play for Burton, but he was quickly pressured by Luckey and Marcus Arrington as he drove the length of the court, putting up a shot over the outstretched arms of Cardona that hit the backboard and fell off of the rim, giving the Chaps the narrow victory.

Cardona, who fell one rebound short of his first career double-double, went on a scoring surge midway through the first period to increase the Chap lead from 12-9 to 21-14 in just over three minutes. The Hilltoppers closed the gap to within three on a layup by Frankie Mgbolu four-and-a-half minutes before the break, but Holman drilled a three-pointer, Arrington converted an and-one and hit another two from the line, while Luckey made a bucket in the lane to push the Chaps ahead by 10 at the break.

The Chaps acquired their biggest lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Cardona with 11:09 on the clock to put LCU up, 45-34. SEU whittled away LCU's advantage to four points to trail by four and 5:40 to play before Cardona scored the final Chap field goal of the game to set up the closing tense minutes.

Luckey tallied 11 points for LCU, along with seven rebounds and five assists. For SEU, Mgbolu recorded a team-high 17 points.
LCU now is tied with Arkansas-Fort Smith and Texas-Permian Basin, sitting one game behind Rogers State and St. Mary's for the top spot in the league with three games remaining.