LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (12-7, 6-3 Heartland) at NEWMAN UNIVERSITY (6-13, 4-6 Heartland)
Monday, January 30, 2017 – 7:30 PM
Fugate Gymnasium (Wichita, Kans.)
Radio: KJTV AM 950 / 100.7 FM
All-Time Series: Series is tied at 3-3
Tweet #LCUvsNU | Tweet #HeartlandMBB
 
HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
The rivalry between the Jets and the Chaparrals is still very young. The first meeting between the squads came in the 2013-14 season when LCU initially joined the Heartland Conference. In the first three meetings, Lubbock Christian jumped to a 2-1 advantage over Newman. However, last season the squads met on three different occasions, two of which were won by the Jets. In their most recent meeting, Newman downed the Chaps 81-79 (March 5, 2016) to knock LCU out of the Heartland Conference Tournament in Tulsa, Okla.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THEIR LAST GAME
After playing 10 of their last 12 games on the road, Lubbock Christian University returned home and extended their win streak to four games by defeating Dallas Baptist University 79-72 inside Rip Griffin Center. Brennen Fowler led LCU in Saturday's Heartland Conference contest with a game-high 18 points and 12 assists for his eighth double-double of the season.
 
The Chaparrals opened the game on a 10-2 run covering the opening six minutes of the afternoon. The Patriots began closing the gap and even jumped within three-points, 18-15, after a triple from Julian Miranda with 10:38 in the period. Lubbock Christian responded with an 8-0 scoring streak to take an 11-point lead, 26-15, for their largest lead of the half. Fowler accounted for five of LCU's final seven points, which included a long three-pointer, to give the Chaps a 39-33 lead at the break.
 
Lubbock Christian was never really forced to play with their backs against the wall in the opening half. The closest the Patriots ever came was within two-points at the 1:12 mark after a three-pointer by Myles Johnson. The Chaps shot an even 50% (15-of-30) from the floor in the opening half and 44.4% from beyond the three-point line. Fowler led LCU with nine-points and six rebounds on 4-of-10 shooting and knocked down one of the Chaps four three-pointers for the half. Ridrell Holman added in eight-points on 75% (3-of-4) from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from downtown. Marcus Arrington was 3-of-3 from the field for six-points of his own.
 
Patrick Burke and Myles Johnson each posted eight points on 75% (3-of-4) shooting from the field. Collectively, DBU shot 54.2% (13-of-24) from the floor and 45.5% (5-of-11) from the three-point line.
 
Marcos Schuster opened up the second half with an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Chaps a 42-35 lead in the opening minutes. After a layup by DBU's Patrick Burke, Isaac Cardona sparked an 11-0 run that culminated in a 14-point LCU lead, their largest of the game, at 57-43 with 8:56 left to play. The Chaps then went on a three-minute scoring drought that allowed the Patriots to cut the LCU lead to 57-56. After Schuster knocked down a jumper, DBU's Amari Bryant drained a three-pointer to tie up the score at 59-59 for the one and only time of the afternoon. The Chaparrals finally found their footing and scored seven straight points to take a 66-59 lead. The Patriots were forced to foul on LCU's next six possessions and sent the Chaps to the free throw line for a total of 12 times. Lubbock Christian converted on 10 of their 12 final free throws to seal the LCU victory at 79-72. The Chaps last 11-points came from the free throw line while their final field goal came with 2:14 left to play.
 
The second half was really the same story, different chapter for the Chaparrals. LCU combined for a 48% (12-of-25) shooting mark in the half. Tyler Rogers went on a 12-point tear on 60% (3-of-5) shooting and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Marcos Schuster was close behind with 11-points and three assists. Fowler also added a quiet nine-points in the half in addition to six rebounds. LCU's was sent to the charity stripe a total of 17 times in the second period and converted on 14 for an 82.4% team average.
 
Bryant carried the Patriot offense with 15-points, scoring all 15 points in the second period. As a squad, Dallas Baptist shot 43.3% (13-of-30) from the field and 28.6% (4-of-14) from behind the arc. The DBU bench accounted for 24 of the Patriots 39 second-half points. Overall, Miranda (13 points), Burke (12 points) and Myles Johnson (12 points) joined Bryant in double figures.  
 
The Chaps had four players finish in double figures in points. Rogers finished with 17 points, and Schuster and Holman each had 11 points to join Fowler. Holman, Fowler and Rogers combined to go 5-of-7 from long range, as LCU was 6-for-15 (40%) from three-point range.
 
FOUR-GAME STREAK
Lubbock Christian has certainly been playing well as of late. They are currently riding a four-game win streak, which began in an 86-70 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Jan. 12. In these past four games, LCU has won by an 8.3 margin on 52.6% shooting from the field and an average of 82.5 points per contest. The Chaps have also completed the job done on the glass by snagging 32.5 boards per game while outrebounding opponents by a 6.7 margin. Senior Marcus Arrington has dished out a total of 17 assists for a mark of 4.25 assists per game. Ridrell Holman and Brennen Fowler have been a two-man wrecking crew leading the Chaps in scoring with 15.5 and 15.3 points per game,. In this four game stretch, three of LCU's victories have come on the road.
 
SINCE POSTPONED GAME
Monday's game against Newman is a postponed and rescheduled contest originally scheduled on Jan. 14. With Winter Storm Jupiter, the squads decided to move it to Monday. Although this game will be the Chaps second of four games in a seven-day period, the postponement may not have been for the worst. Going into the Jan. 14 matchup, Newman held a 4-2 Heartland record that placed them second in conference standings. At that point, LCU held a 3-3 record that left them in eighth place in Heartland standings. Since then, the Jets have lost four straight games on the road and dropped to eighth in the conference. The Chaps have since flipped their luck and are currently holding a share of the second place spot.
 
NO TEAM IS SAFE
While standings continue to mean more and more as the season begins to wrap up, Heartland rankings have not seemed to hold an abundance of weight throughout this season. Since the beginning of conference play, there have been five different teams in the Heartland's first place spot. Currently in first place is Texas A&M International who has three conference losses.  Their three defeats have come to the hands of a fifth place St. Edward's team, a second place Dallas Baptist team and a fourth place Rogers State squad.
 
Second-place Dallas Baptist holds a 6-3 conference record. Lubbock Christian has handed DBU two of their three losses, while seventh place St. Mary's gave DBU their third Heartland defeat in a 69-65 battle.
 
Although the Chaps have been successful as of late, a trio of Heartland losses has tested their second-place spot. Their three losses have come to TAMIU in a 67-64 battle (Jan. 2, 2017), a low-scoring 58-49 affair against Rogers State and a disappointing 70-55 performance against St. Mary's.
 
Even fourth-place Rogers State has had their fair share of scattered losses. Their four defeats have come to a first-place TAMIU, a second-place DBU, a sixth-place UA Fort Smith and an eighth place Newman.
 
NEW YEAR EFFICIENCY
Since the beginning of the month, LCU has shown a large amount of poise on the offensive end of the floor. As a team, the Chaps are converting on 47.2% of their shots. 73.5% of their buckets have come from inside of the arc.
 
There are four Chaparrals averaging double-scoring figures for the month of January. Marcos Schuster (10.4 ppg), Brennen Fowler (12.6 ppg) and Tyler Rogers (14.0 ppg) have all attacked the net impressively for LCU over the course of the month. Senior Ridrell Holman has led the way for Lubbock Christian by posting 15.3 points per game on 46.8% shooting from the field and 47.5% from downtown.
 
COMFORT ON THE ROAD
The Chaps have grown accustomed to playing away from home so far this season. After playing their first six-games inside Rip Griffin Center, LCU has since played 10 of their last 13 games on the road. Lubbock Christian is 6-4 overall and 4-2 in Heartland play in games away from home. Of those four losses, the Chaparrals have lost by a combined margin of 5.8 points. In their six away wins, the LCU has won by an average of 6.7 points.
 
Brennen Fowler has been the spark plug on the road for the Chaps this season by averaging a 54.5% field goal mark. In the Chaps 10 road games, Fowler has posted 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT THE JETS
- The Jets 76.7% free throw average leads the Heartland Conference.
- Daniel Nwosu has been able to score in bulk so far this season. Nwosu is averaging 18.3 points per game, which currently ranks first in the Heartland.
- Taylor Schieber leads the conference in both three-point field goals per game (2.71) and three-point field goal percentage (37.4%).
- Newman knocked Lubbock Christian out of the Heartland Conference Tournament before losing to eventual champions, Dallas Baptist, in the 2015-16 season.
- The Jets were preseason picked to finish eighth in Heartland Conference polls.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH NEWMAN
TULSA, Okla. (March 4, 2016) – The first ever NCAA postseason appearance for Lubbock Christian University men's basketball ended prematurely as the second-seeded Chaparrals fell 81-79 to seventh-seeded Newman Friday afternoon to end LCU's bid for an automatic berth into the South Central Regional Tournament beginning March 12.
 
The Chaps (20-9, 14-7 Heartland) must now wait and see if their season will continue with the hopes of an at-large bid for the regional tournament being held March 12-15. The winner of the Heartland Tournament will receive an automatic qualifier, as will the champions of the Lone Star and Rocky Mountain conference tournaments. LCU, along with five other teams, will receive word Sunday night during the selection show on whether or not they are chosen to continue their respective seasons.  
 
Much like in LCU's 84-76 loss to Newman in Wichita on February 6, the Jets made a killing on three-pointers by connecting on 15-of-28 to tie a season high only matched by Dallas Baptist on January 4. Of Newman's (17-12, 10-11 Heartland) 24 field goals, only nine of them came from inside the arc. Four Jets hit three or more from deep with a game-high five coming from Daniel Nwosu.
 
Tyler Rogers scored a team-high 18 points for LCU and grabbed eight rebounds. Marcos Schuster registered 13 points, A.J. Luckey had 12 and Isaac Cardona added 10 and a game-high nine boards.
 
Midway through the first half the Chaps accumulated a 22-10 advantage on back-to-back three-pointers by Schuster, and a jumper by Matthew Alford upped the margin to 27-14 at the 8:40 mark of the first half. A layup by Brennen Fowler handed LCU its largest lead at 35-21, but consecutive treys by NU quickly whittled the gap to 35-27. Four free throws by the Jets cut the lead to six with 1:16 to go before the break, but on the final play of the half Schuster drilled a shot from the top of the key as time expired to give the Chaps a 43-34 lead.
 
A three-pointer by Marcus Arrington to open the half was a good sign for LCU, but eight straight points by the Jets swung the momentum in their favor. A three by NU's Taylor Schieber tied the game at 51-all five minutes into the half before Rogers regained the lead for LCU and Schuster added another pair on free throws. Schieber scored eight straight to put his team up 59-58, but Rogers countered with two foul shots along with a bucket and foul in the lane from an assist by a double-teamed Ridrell Holman to lift LCU to a 63-61 edge with 9:45 to go.
 
A 10-2 run by Newman over the next three minutes prompted a 71-65 lead that LCU worked to tie the score at 2:28 on two free throws by Michael Grant. A step-back three by NU's Jalen Rose put a dagger in the Chaps twenty seconds later as LCU was unable to find their offensive power until Cardona scored while cutting through the lane to pull LCU within 79-77 with 45 seconds to play. Newman was unable to increase their advantage on the next opportunity, but the same fate awaited the Chaps as a shot by Rogers from inside was a bit too strong with 11 seconds on the clock, forcing LCU to foul leading to two free throws by Nwosu. A breakaway layup by Cardona cut the lead to two with one second remaining, but the Jets ran out the clock for the upset victory.