LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (8-7, 2-3 Heartland) at OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE UNIVERSITY (5-9, 0-5 Heartland)
Thursday, January 12, 2017 – 7:30 PM
Oscar Williams Field House (Goodwell, Okla.)
Radio: KJTV AM950/100.7FM
All-Time Series: LCU leads 27-22
Tweet #LCUvsOPSU | Tweet #HeartlandMB
 
HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
The Chaps have met the Aggies a total of 49 times in a series that dates back to 1974. In those 49 games, Lubbock Christian holds a 27-22 record. Since the 2013 season, LCU has won five straight games, the closest of which was a 77-73 victory in Goodwell, Okla. (Jan. 19, 2015). The Chaparrals are riding a wave of success as they have won 11 of the last 12 matchups. Since joining the Heartland, Coach Duncan and his team have won by an average margin of 17.8 points.
 
LAST GAME RECAP
LUBBOCK, Texas (January 7, 2017) - Lubbock Christian University suffered a 58-49 loss to Rogers State University in a game that featured LCU's lowest scoring contest since Dec. 17, 2015. Tyler Rogers (11 points) and Marcos Schuster (10 points) led LCU in the loss, which snapped a 17-game Heartland Conference home winning streak for the Chaps, which began after a 72-61 loss to Rogers State on Jan. 15, 2015.
 
Things did not start well for the Chaparrals, as Rogers State opened up the game on an 11-5 run. The Chaps finally woke up and took their first lead of the game at 12-11 on a three-pointer by Tyler Rogers with 11:36 left in the half. LCU tried to distance themselves from the Hillcats, but RSU held tight on defense and took a 17-15 advantage at the 4:50 mark of the first period. Arrington regained the lead for Lubbock Christian on a pair of free throws, but it was short lived as RSU jumped back ahead 28-22 at the break.
 
Lubbock Christian's bench came to play by scoring 15 of the Chaps 22 first half points. Chuck Kendley led LCU in the period with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting and a trio of free throws. The Hillcats waxed the Chaparrals on the boards by a margin of 20-11 in addition to their 28 first half points. LCU never really found a rhythm in the first period as they were held to 7-of-24 (29.2%) shooting from the floor and 2-9 (22.2%) from beyond the arc. Although the Chaps forced seven turnovers by the Hillcats, they committed seven of their own and allowed seven points off of their turnovers.
 
The second half remained tight, as there were four more lead changes in the second half. The Chaps showed some promise after returning from halftime, cutting Rogers State's lead down to one at 34-33 with 16:22 to play. Baron Smith countered by extending the Hillcats lead back to six, 39-33, after splitting a pair of free throws. LCU remained consistent and took another lead at 40-39 with two free throws from Michael Grant, but again, RSU answered with a three-pointer to tie things back up. The Chaps held on tight, but the Hillcats took their final lead of the game on a layup by Christopher Ikuenobe to put the score at 49-47 with 5:31 remaining. Rogers State scored 11 of the games final 15 points to seal their victory at 58-49.
 
Lubbock Christian had a more successful second half and limited Rogers State's scoring to five different players. Marcos Schuster scored eight of his 10 points to lead the Chaparral offense in the second period, but RSU continued to shoot effectively and ultimately just outlasted LCU. Ridrell Holman and Tyler Rogers had the Chaps lone three-pointers in the half, as LCU struggled with a 2-of-10 shooting mark from downtown.
 
RSU found their groove early on in the game and remained consistent for its entirety. Three different Hillcats recorded double-scoring figures. Baron Smith Jr. had a game-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Nine of Smith's 21 points came from three-point land and six came from the charity stripe. Rogers State's starting five scored 56 of their 58 points. As a squad, the Hillcats finished the game shooting 40.4% (19/47) from the field and 77.8% (14/18) from the free throw line.
 
DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian is coming off of a game in which they held Rogers State to just 58 points on 40.4% (19-of-47) shooting. Although the Hillcats pulled off the victory, the performance by the Chap's scoring defense tied a season low for an opponent this season. In their 15 games so far, LCU has held their opponents to a 41.6% field goal average, which ranks first among the Heartland Conference.
 
ROGER THAT
In Lubbock Christian's last meeting with the Aggies (Jan. 28, 2016), Tyler Rogers pushed the Chaps to their six-point victory with 22 points by shooting 60% (9-of-15) from the floor.
 
As of late, Rogers has proven his effectiveness leading the Chaps squad with 41 made free throws on 53 attempts for a 77.4% free throw average. Tyler has led LCU in scoring in three games this season, his latest coming against Rogers State with an 11-point performance. Rogers has posted double scoring figures in eight of Lubbock Christian's 15 games while only making four starts this season.
 
THE SLIDE
The Chaps started out the year preseason picked to finish second in the Heartland. While they have made some impressive wins at Dallas Baptist and against Arkansas Fort Smith, LCU has lost three of their last four games. This slide has dropped the Chaparrals down to the eight place spot. Lubbock Christian has started out the month of January with a 1-2 record and they have five games remaining in the month.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
LCU, who ended a seven-game road trip last Thursday, is back on the road, January will return the Chaps to familiar territory. Despite playing their past two games inside Rip Griffin Center, the Chaps are beginning a four-game road trip with a stop at OPSU. LCU held a 3-4 record on their last road trip, with three of their four losses coming by three points or less.
 
BEGINNING OF THE END
Although rivalry between the squads has been long standing, the series as Heartland opponents is coming to a close. Following the end of this year, the Aggies will be moving to the NAIA. The Chaps have won all five previous meetings against Panhandle State as Heartland Conference members.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT THE AGGIES
- OPSU ranks first in the Heartland, 11^th nationally, in three-pointers attempted (422). Though the Aggies are not shy in tossing up shots from beyond the arc, they have only connected 130 times. Riyadh Asad leads Panhandle State with 38 total three-point field goals and 8.7 per game. 114 of Asad's 164 points this season have come from downtown.
- The Aggies have been excellent in contesting the shot so far. In fact, OPSU currently ranks at the top of the conference with 53 total team blocks. Panhandle State also ranks second in the conference by averaging 3.5 blocks per game.
- OPSU has a total of five different players averaging double scoring figures. Jace Kerr leads the team with 16.8 points per game in an average of 27.9 minutes per game. Kerr has had no problem converting for the Aggies as he is a 53% shooter.
- Devonta Brooks ranks at the top of the Heartland with 9.6 total rebounds per game and 28^th nationally with 3.5 offensive rebounds per game. Brooks also sits second in the conference with 6.08 defensive boards per game.
- The Aggies are ranked last in the Heartland Conference for their scoring defense. They have allowed their opposition to score 86.4 points per game.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH PANHANDLE STATE
GOODWELL, Okla. (January 28, 2016) – Lubbock Christian University outscored Oklahoma Panhandle State 13-6 over the final 5:38 as two free throws each by Marcos Schuster and Matthew Alford in the final seconds clinched a 67-61 victory for the Chaparrals while Tyler Rogers recorded a season-high 22 points inside Oscar Williams Field House Thursday night.
 
LCU (13-6, 7-4 Heartland) overcame a six-point halftime deficit and 21 points from Aggie Melvin Mitchell that included a 5-of-5 performance from beyond the arc to keep OPSU (8-11, 1-10 Heartland) from just their second conference win on the season.
 
Marcus Arrington put the Chaps up by three with 5:10 remaining to break a 54-54 game, and a three-point play by Rogers doubled LCU's advantage. OPSU's Antonio Manns, Jr. drilled two free throws, but Rogers answered again with a three to put the Chaps up 63-56 with 3:10 on the clock. Manns, Jr. then hit 3-of-4 from the line and a jumper for his sixth and seventh consecutive points to pull the Aggies to within a pair with 26 seconds remaining, but Schuster and Alford sank their freebies to seal the LCU win.
 
The Chaps started the game with a bucket from Alford along with three-pointers from Isaac Cardona and Schuster to open with an 8-2 advantage. A three by Mitchell cut the margin to 10-9 four minutes in before Schuster countered with one of his own. Cardona hit Ridrell Holman with a no-look pass for a 19-14 Chap lead and Rogers converted a wild and-one to increase the margin to eight midway through the half. Two shots by Manns, Jr. and a three by Marquavis Williams pushed the Aggies in front at 24-23 two minutes later before finishing the half on an 8-0 run for a 37-31 OPSU lead.
 
After the break, a free throw by Mitchell put the Aggies up eight three minutes in, but Brennen Fowler cut the deficit in half with two free throws and score in the paint. Rogers single handedly pieced together a 9-0 run before Schuster tied the contest at 50-50 and Cardona gave the Chaps the lead back with 8:16 to go. Cardona scored again for a 54-50 LCU lead in front of Williams hitting a jumper and Mitchell connecting on two free throws for a tie game at 54-54 with 5:38 left to play.