OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY (2-3) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (3-2)
Monday, November 21 - 8:00 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: KJTV AM 950/100.7 FM
All-Time Series: LCU leads 5-2
Tweet #LCUvsOLLU
 
UP AND RUNNING
Lubbock Christian University men's basketball opened up the season with a pair of slow starts. The Chaps hosted the RMAC/Heartland Challenge this year and took on Regis University and No. 21 Colorado School of Mines in their opening weekend. Despite out rebounding their opponents and scoring 70+ in both games, LCU was unable to grab a win in their first weekend of play. In the wake of their opening weekend woes, the Chaparrals unleashed on Randall University for a 91-63 victory. Since their first win of the season, Lubbock Christian has captured two more to put them above .500 at a 3-2 overall record.
 
In all games, the Chaps have attacked the boards and outrebounded their opponents by a nine-point margin. LCU is averaging 85 points per game on 51% shooting. In all three of the victories, Lubbock Christian has scored 90+ points. LCU is 1-1 against ranked opponents this season, one of which came in a foul-ridden game against the Buffs of West Texas A&M University. LCU picked apart the Buffaloes by shooting 61% from the field in a 95-86 victory.
 
Looking ahead to the Monday night matchup, LCU has beaten the Saints in dominating fashion in their past two matchups. The closest that OLLU has come was a 17-point defeat against LCU last season (11/21/15). The Chaps own a 5-2 edge over OLLU. The last Saints victory came in the 2011-12 season in a 74-71 victory.
 
LAST GAME RECAP
Lubbock Christian University played their fifth contest of a six-game homestand Saturday afternoon and pulled out their third straight victory of the week. Brennen Fowler grabbed his third consecutive double-double (11 points and 14 rebounds), while Marcos Schuster made his 2016 debut and led all scorers with 19 points to dominated Sul Ross State 90-74.
 
Ridrell Holman knocked down the Chaps first points of the afternoon to help LCU jump out to an early 10-4 lead over the Lobos. Former Chap, Jacob Dawson drained a mid-range jumper to close the gap and pull the Lobos to a 14-13 deficit. Schuster converted his first layup and free throw shot to grab three points the old fashioned way. Schuster's "and-one" ignited a 13-2 run to put the Chaps up 30-15. Lubbock Christian bumped their lead up to 13-points before they closed out the half at 39-30.
 
In the first half, Lubbock Christian shot 17-38 (44.7%) while holding the Lobos to 12-31 (38.7%). The Chaps were only sent to the line on four different occasions and converted three times. At the break, Schuster was the only Chaparral in double-figures with 11 points on 4-9 shooting. Fowler grabbed eight of the Chaps 25 rebounds in the first period and added four points of his own. Holman and Jay Workman each knocked down a shot from downtown for LCU's only three-pointers of the half. C.J. Ross led the Lobos with nine points on 4-9 shooting. 
 
In the second half, the Chaparrals pushed the tempo and raced out to a 57-41 lead with 13:45 left in the game. A jumper by Caleb Thomasson pulled the Lobos to within 14 points, but that would be the closest that Sul Ross would get for the remainder of the game. Holman drained his final three-pointer of the afternoon to give the Chaps a 22-point cushion and their largest lead of the game at 78-56. From that point on, the Chaps simply maintained their lead and wound out the clock. Schuster knocked down a pair of go-ahead free throws to finish the LCU victory 90-74.
 
The Lobos were the first team to challenge the Chaps under the rim, as LCU only outscored Sul Ross 46-38 in the paint. Lubbock Christian made the most of their offensive rebounds and outscored Sul Ross State 23-5 on second chance points. The Chaps outshined the Lobos on the glass and marked down 52 rebounds compared to SRSU's 27. LCU finished the game shooting 35-75 (45.3%) and 16-18 from the free throw line. Holman finished with 17 points and three of LCU's six three-pointers for the game.
 
CHAP LEADERS
Sophomore forward Brennen Fowler has been a standout for the Chaps so far this season. He was named Heartland Conference Player of the Week following his play in three consecutive home-wins for the Chaps, including a win over previously unbeaten No. 16 West Texas A&M. Fowler has tallied three double-doubles in LCU's last three games. He is also averaging a double-double with 15 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. This is Fowler's first Heartland Conference Player of the Week honor for the 2016 season.
 
Marcos Schuster made his 2016 debut in Lubbock Christian's last game against Sul Ross State. The Lubbock native wasted no time and picked up 19 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Chaps. Schuster implements another danger to the LCU defense as he applies high-pressure against opponents. Schuster also picked up five steals against the Lobos.
 
Senior Ridrell Holman has kept opponents honest with his range from behind the arc. He leads LCU with a 48% average on 12-of-25 shooting from three-point land. Holman has started all five games for the Chaps and shot 7-of-12 in his last game against Sul Ross State.
 
The Chaps have dished out 83 total assists so far this season with 23 coming from senior Marcus Arrington. Arrington has started in every contest and averages 4.6 assists per game.
 
SAINTS FACTS
- Our Lady of the Lake University is an NAIA program out of San Antonio, Texas. The Saints compete in the Red River Athletic Conference.
- The Saints were preseason picked to finish second in the RRAC.
- OLLU is coming off of an Elite Eight appearance in the 2015-16 NAIA National Tournament. They fell to No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene University.
- Our Lady of the Lake played NCAA Div. II Cameron University on Saturday night. The Saints defense tightened up in the second half and pushed Cameron to an overtime period where OLLU closed out the game and defeated the Aggies 84-78 for their second victory of the year.
- Head coach Ryan Wall enters his fourth year as the Saints head coach. Wall has led OLLU to back-to-back NAIA National Tournament appearances including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the 2014-15 season and an Elite Eight appearance in the 2015-16 season. Prior to his head coaching position at OLLU, Wall was an assistant coach at Ranger College.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY
LUBBOCK, Texas (November 21, 2015) – A.J. Luckey led five Chaparrals in double-figure scoring with his game-high 25 points, 20 of which came after halftime, as Lubbock Christian University connected on over sixty percent of their shots and hit 28 free throws in a 95-78 win over Our Lady of the Lake, the NAIA's 25th-ranked team, inside the Rip Griffin Center in the 2015-16 home opener.
 
The Chaps (3-1, 0-0 Heartland) once again kept their three-point attempts to a minimum but aimed with accuracy by draining 3-of-4, and their preciseness was evident from the floor on the 32-of-53 showing on field goals and a 28-of-35 output from the free throw line. In comparison, the Saints (1-1, 0-0 Red River) were 23-of-61 from the floor and 23-of-27 at the charity stripe.
 
Tyler Rogers recorded 14 points for LCU, Michael Grant added a dozen, Isaac Cardona totaled 11 and Marcus Arrington notched his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-best 10 assists.
 
LCU held a 15-point advantage on several occasions, but OLLU went on a 7-0 run in a 90-second span at the 7:36 mark in the second half to cut the deficit to 79-72.  Free throws by Arrington and Marcos Schuster along with a jumper by Ridrell Holman pushed the Chap lead to 84-72 with under five minutes remaining. Three straight buckets by Luckey in the final minutes gave LCU its largest lead and the final score of 95-78.
 
Two free throws by Grant at the 11:59 mark in the first half regained the lead for the Chaps at 13-11 and Schuster followed with a three, but the Saints responded and cut the margin to 18-17 after an and-one by Dilepso Blanco. LCU turned a 26-21 advantage into a double-digit lead on a nice reverse layup by Rogers where he was fouled and made the ensuing free throw and Luckey's two scores in the lane.