LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-9, 14-6 Heartland) vs. TARLETON STATE (22-8, 9-5 Lone Star)
South Central Regional Semifinals
Sunday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-time Series: LCU leads 15-9

History between the squads
LCU leads the all-time series over TSU, 15-9, dating to 1978. The Texans have won the last two matchups between the two squads, including a 65-61 victory over the Chaps during the 2014-15 season and an 87-60 victory the year prior.

About Tarleton State
The Texans arrived to the semifinals of the South Central Regional by defeating Colorado School of Mines, 83-61, Saturday night. TSU has accumulated an overall record of 22-8 on the year and a 9-5 mark in Lone Star play.

Last meeting amongst the squads
Stephenville, Texas (November 15, 2014) – A three-pointer by A.J. Luckey with 43 seconds remaining pulled Lubbock Christian to within four points of the number 12 team in the country, Tarleton State, but the Chaps were unable to cut into the deficit any further, falling 65-61 to the Texans Friday night at Wisdom Gym during the final game of the Texan Tip-Off Classic.
Luckey, a Tip-Off All-Tournament selection, again led the Chaps (0-2, 0-0 Heartland) in scoring, posting 14 points, while Ridrell Holman, Isaac Cardona and Marcos Schuster each tallied nine. LCU connected on 20-of-53 shots from the floor compared to 16-of-44 from TSU, but the Texans (2-0, 0-0 Lone Star) took advantage at the free throw line, hitting 25-of-32 to the Chaps' 14-of-21.
Trailing 60-50 with just under a minute-and-a-half to go, a steal by Schuster led to Luckey making one of two shots on a technical foul assessed to the Texans' Davene Carter, and Schuster then drained both of his attempts from the line after being fouled to trim the lead to eight. On the next play, Schuster came up with another steal and converted a running bank shot for a two possession game with 1:15 left in the contest. The Chaps applied full court pressure, leading to a double dribble call on the Texans, but a Beau Durham three-point attempt from the top of the key rattled out.
A Chap foul led to the Texans making one shot in the double bonus before Luckey's three-pointer from the left wing on a pass from Schuster sliced into the lead for the four-point contest. The Texans again hit one-of-two free throws on the next trip down the floor to push the lead to five before Luckey was called for an offense foul, giving TSU the ball back with 37 seconds to play. The Chap defense came up big, forcing a Texan turnover, but Schuster's three-point attempt was barely off of the mark, forcing LCU to commit a foul. TSU's Lee Mo, the Tournament MVP, made his second of two freebies for a six-point Texan advantage and 14 ticks on the clock. A successful drive by Schuster trimmed the lead to four with seven seconds to go, but Texan Tevan Jones drained two from the line and a final three by Schuster did not quite fall, allowing TSU a sigh of relief in the narrow victory.
The Chaps never placed themselves out of contention throughout the entire game, earning their first lead at 12:52 in the first half on a free throw by Cardona, and did not allow TSU to pull away by more than 14 points throughout the night. LCU took great care of the ball before halftime, committing just a trio of turnovers, trailing by no more than five points heading into the locker room.

Historic Chap victory stuns No. 7 Midwestern State
Wichita Falls, Texas (March 12, 2016) – The Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team is not headed home quite yet. The eighth-seeded Chaparrals pulled a 79-73 upset of host Midwestern State, the number-one seed of the South Central Regional Tournament and seventh-ranked team in the nation, as five Chaps scored in double figures and a torrid seven-of-eight showing from the floor in the extra period Saturday night led to the historic win inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
The Chaps now move on to face fourth-seeded Tarleton State Sunday night at 7:30. The Texans defeated Colorado School of Mines, 83-61, in the final quarterfinal game. Tonight's win by LCU marks a new era for the Chaps, as the victory came during LCU's first year eligible for the NCAA postseason. LCU is now undefeated (1-0) in NCAA national tournament play, and the victory against the seventh-ranked Mustangs counts as the highest team the Chaps have defeated.
The squad in blue shocked the Mustangs and their 3,000 fans by outscoring MSU 41-25 in the first half. After the break, the Chaps (21-9) mustered only 19 points on four field goals compared to 13 makes and 35 points by MSU to force the extra period, but LCU scored another 19 points in the final five minutes to end Midwestern's season. Marcus Arrington and Brennen Fowler shared team-high scoring honors with 14 each, while Marcos Schuster contributed 13 and Matthew Alford added 11.
The first twenty minutes of the contest were punctuated by a leaning three-pointer by Schuster from the top of the key at the halftime buzzer to put LCU up 41-25. Midwestern (24-6) opened the second half with a steal, a block on the defensive end and two layups while the Chaps were unsuccessful on their first five attempts from the field before Schuster connected on a three-pointer from the left wing to put the Chaps up 44-32 three-and-a-half minutes in.
A dunk by MSU's Jordan Stevens erupted the home crowd, but LCU used their next possession to work the ball around until Isaac Cardona found Alford on a cut to the hoop for a 48-36 Chap advantage at the 14:23 mark. A 9-0 Mustang run knotted the game at 49-all until Schuster drilled a three from the left wing, but LCU went scoreless from the field for over four minutes while MSU scored nine points to jump ahead 58-54 with 6:38 to play.
A jumper by Fowler gave the lead back to the Chaps at 62-60, Alford added another pair on a score in the paint and back-to-back buckets by Fowler increased the margin to 70-64 with under two minutes to go. Four missed field goals by the Mustangs placed LCU with a 73-64 advantage with 57 seconds remaining. A three by MSU's Brandon Golden cut the deficit to five and immediately fouled A.J. Luckey who hit one-of-two from the line to make it a two-possession game, and a fast break layup by Alford sealed the significant win.
Fowler opened the game and Chap offense by setting the tone down low with two scores in the paint. Ridrell Holman checked into the game five minutes in and immediately hit a jumper to put LCU on top, 8-3. Tyler Rogers hit a shot from the right baseline to increase the lead to 18-10 midway through the first half, and added another three points from beyond the line with eight minutes to play until the break.
A jumper by Mustang Khapri Alston lessened the gap to nine before Fowler converted a reverse layup and tipped in a miss for a 34-23 Chap advantage. Arrington then went coast-to-coast to make it 36-23, and Schuster flung in the final five points of the half to give LCU a 41-25 lead at the break.
President Tim Perrin, a former LCU basketball player himself, congratulated the team on the win in the locker room by describing the evening as "unbelievable". Perrin exclaimed to the celebrating squad, "That was one of the greatest wins in the history of LCU basketball."

The Chaps are in!
Lubbock Christian University men's basketball received refreshing news last Sunday night during the NCAA Division II Selection Show as the Chaparrals discovered they were chosen to participate in the NCAA national tournament for the first time in program history.
The Chaps, fresh off of an 81-79 loss to Newman in the Heartland Conference tournament Friday, were cautiously optimistic they would be in the mix for one of the five at-large bids in the eight-team South Central Regional. LCU grabbed the final spot as the #8 seed.
 
NCAA postseason debut
The 2012-13 season marks the last time the Chaps were eligible and competed in any postseason action. Fifth-seeded LCU was defeated by fourth-seeded University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma, 66-63, during the first round of the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament on February 28, 2013.
The Chaps have been patiently waiting for the last two years as LCU successfully completed the transition into the NCAA and made a made the most of their initial appearance by securing the second seed heading into the conference tournament.

Regional rankings include Chaps
Lubbock Christian University men's basketball received its first ranking since entering the realm of the NCAA in 2015-16 as the Chaparrals were slated in the sixth spot within the South Central regional ranks on February 17.
The season's first release marked the first time the Chaps have garnered recognition in the polls since their initial transition into the NCAA during the 2013-14 season.
The regional rankings consist of the top 10 teams in each of the eight respective regions: Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South Central, South, Southeast and West. Following the conclusion of conference tournaments in the upcoming weeks, the top eight teams in each region move on to regional tournaments.
The South Central Region is comprised of the Heartland, Lone Star and Rocky Mountain Conferences.

Luckey grabs First Team honors
A.J. Luckey of Lubbock Christian University men's basketball was announced as a First Team All-Conference selection for the second consecutive season as the senior received his award on Tuesday at the Heartland Conference basketball banquet prior to the start of the men's basketball tournament beginning Friday.
Luckey is the eighth leading scorer in the league with his 15 points per game output that included a 31-point outburst at Oklahoma Christian on February 24 while his 27 points against Texas A&M International last Saturday comprised of a game-tying three-pointer to force overtime that concluded in a Chap win.
The Flower Mound Marcus graduate has also grabbed a team-best 134 rebounds for an average of 4.8 and his hit 110 of his 134 free throw attempts at an 82.1-percent clip, eighth best in the Heartland. The 6-0 guard snagged a career-high 16 boards versus St. Edward's January 23 and tied a career-best with his nine assists against Oklahoma Panhandle State December 31.

Fowler on the rise
Since being inserted into the starting lineup versus Arkansas-Fort Smith on February 11, freshman Brennen Fowler has been a force for the Chaps. Prior to his starting campaign, the forward was averaging 4.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12 minutes of action per game, and within the last seven games has risen those numbers to 7.7 and 5.3 per while playing an average of 30 minutes.  
Folwer has recorded six straight double-doubles since debuting within the first five. The Symer High School product has produced averages of 16.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over the last eight contests, highlighted by a career-high 35 points at Texas-Permian Basin on February 20. The 6-8 forward is shooting 67-percent from the floor and 82-percent from the line during that span.
Following his performances versus UAFS and Rogers State last month, Fowler netted Heartland Conference Player of the Week honors.

Shared scoring of the Chaps
During LCU's 30 contests of 2015-16, eight Chaps have stepped up to lead the squad in scoring. A.J. Luckey has tallied top honors 10 times, while Tyler Rogers is close behind at nine. Marcus Arrington has on seven occasions, while Isaac Cardona and Marcos Schuster have each carried the team in three games. Ridrell Holman, Matthew Alford and Brennen Folwer each have notched a team-high in points once.