UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FORT SMITH (9-6, 3-1 Heartland) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (7-6, 1-2 Heartland)
Thursday, January 5 – 8:00 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: KJTV AM950/100.7FM
TV: Fox 34 News Now
All-Time Series: LCU leads 3-2
Tweet #LCUvsUAFS | Tweet #HeartlandMB
 
HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
The rivalry between Lubbock Christian University and Arkansas-Fort Smith has been short-lived, but competitive nonetheless. The two squads had never faced off until the 2013-2014 season when LCU joined the Heartland Conference. Since then, the Chaps have battled the Lions a total of five times, with Lubbock Christian holding a 3-2 series lead. In the previous meeting, the Chaparrals pulled out a 72-71 nail-biter (Feb. 11, 2016) inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
THE RETURN
It has been 45 days since the Chaps last game inside Rip Griffin Center. LCU began a seven-game road stint with a 76-75 overtime victory against Northwood University (Nov. 25, 2016). Heading into their road trip, Lubbock Christian held a 4-2 record. While on the road, they encountered a 3-4 record.
 
At home, the Chaparrals are allowing 74.6 points per game by opponents. On the road, Lubbock Christian allowed 68.7 points per game. While they are allowing more points at home than they are on the road, LCU has scored an average of 86.8 points per game inside Rip Griffin Center compared to 67.4 average on the road.
 
LAST GAME RECAP
LAREDO, Texas (January 2, 2017) - Lubbock Christian University fell to Texas A&M International in a game that featured four Chaparrals in double-scoring figures. LCU's Ridrell Holman matched a season-high in points with 17, but it was not enough, as they fell 67-64 Monday night in a Heartland Conference tilt.
 
LCU's offense was extremely balanced, as Marcos Schuster and Tyler Rogers each picked up 13 points while Brennen Fowler posted 10 points in 12 minutes played. Holman came up huge for the Chaps, as he tacked on 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Lubbock Christian shot 38.6% (22/57) from the field and 87.5% (14/16) from the free throw line. Rogers was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.
 
The Chaparrals hit the court running and blitzed out to a 13-3 lead five minutes into the game. The 10-point LCU lead would be their largest of the game. Lubbock Christian was able to keep them at a distance for the remainder of the half until a layup by Jake Eynon pulled TAMIU within one at 22-21 with 4:17 left in the first period. Rogers drained a pair of free throws to return the Chap lead to three, but a layup by Bunja Yaboe and a couple of free throws by Jordan VanDekop handed the Dustdevils their first lead of the evening at 25-24. TAMIU ended the half with Kenny Hatch stealing the ball with two second remaining and nailing a buzzer beating three-pointer to give the Dustdevils a 31-27 halftime lead.
 
Texas A&M International narrowly grabbed the edge on the boards in the first half, outrebounding LCU 16-14. Although both teams mirrored each other with four three-pointers and nine made field goals, the Chaps shot more efficiently. Lubbock Christian shot 36.4% (4/11) from behind the arc and 37.5% (9/24) from the field, while the Dustdevils shot 57.1% (4/7) from three-point land and 28.1% (9/32) overall. Sophomore Brennen Fowler, LCU's leading rebounder, played only two minutes before picking up two quick fouls forcing him to sit the rest of the half. The Dustdevils had 10 points in the half off 10 LCU turnovers.
 
Yaboe turned a quick layup at the beginning of the second half to open the Dustdevil lead to six points before the Chaps began pecking away. Holman drained a trey followed by a layup to put LCU within one-point, 33-32, at the 17:48 mark. Rogers threw down a monstrous dunk to continue what would ultimately be a 13-0 run by the Chaparrals. Brennen Fowler converted three points the old fashioned way to give Lubbock Christian an eight-point lead, their largest of the second half, at 43-35 with 15:02 left in the game. TAMIU remained persistent and ultimately grabbed the final lead change of the night on a three-pointer by Yaboe. Yaboe's long-range triple gave the Dustdevils a 49-48 advantage with 8:45 left to play. The Chaps were able to tie the game up three more times, but Texas A&M International's Arthur Santanna netted a final free throw to hand LCU a 67-64 loss.
 
On paper, Lubbock Christian dominated the second half. The Chaps knocked down 13 field goals while dishing out 11 assists. LCU was also a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line, while the Dustdevils shot 73.3%(11/15) from the stripe. In total, the Chaparrals were called for 14 second half fouls while A&M International was whistled for nine. LCU also owned a 15-13 rebounding advantage in the second period.
 
Bunja Yaboe was the saving grace for the Dustdevils, as he erupted for 21-second half points on 9-of-10 shooting. Only two other players got on the board in the second period for A&M International. VanDekop went 2-of-4 from inside the arc, while Denzel Bellot shot 1-of-4. Yaboe's 90 percent shooting performance pushed TAMIU to 52.2% (12/23) from the field in the second half.
 
DEFENSE
As a squad, LCU is allowing 71.5 points per game by their opponents. The Chaps field goal defense ranks first in the Heartland by holding teams to 41.8% shooting. A large portion of Lubbock Christian's strong defense can be attributed to their defensive rebounding success. The Chaparral defense is averaging 28.23 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks first in the conference. In addition, they have also knocked away a total of 46 blocks (second in the conference)
 
DOUBLING UP
Brennen Fowler has been a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the court. He has picked up seven double-doubles on the season, which ranks ninth in the country. Fowler is averaging 13.4 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game. Of the Chaps 46 blocks, Brennen is responsible for 26 of them. The Smyer, Texas native's 26 blocks puts him at an average of two blocks per game, which sits 28^th nationally.
 
CLOSE CALLS
Five of the Chaps six losses have been by four points or less. Throughout all six of their defeats, LCU has lost by an average of 4.8 points. Two of their losses have come with the Chaps outshooting their opponents from the field.
 
PAINTING THE OPPOSITION
The Chaps have been able to muscle their way to 76.4 points per game. In total, LCU is scoring 33.5 points per game inside the paint. Of Lubbock Christian's 993 total points this year, 436 have come inside the key. 43.9% of the Chaparral's total points have come from under the basket.
 
LEARNING ABOUT THE LIONS
- The Lions have been very aggressive in getting to the basket. UAFS ranks eighth nationally in free throw attempts (367). Of those 367 free throws, Fort Smith has knocked down 272 shots from the charity stripe, which is listed at fourth in the nation. DeVaunta Thomas leads the Lion charge by sinking 47-of-62 free throws. Although Thomas leads Arkansas Ft. Smith in free throw attempts, it is Seth Youngblood who leads their squad with a 93.2 free throw percentage. Youngblood's free throw percentage ranks first in the Heartland and seventh nationally.
- Arkansas Fort Smith was preseason picked to win the Heartland Conference. The Lions currently sit in second place in conference standings with a 3-1 Heartland record. Two of their three conference victories have come in their home arena.
- All six of UAFS's losses have come on the road with their latest coming at the hands of Texas A&M International in Laredo, Texas. The Lions are currently riding a three-game win streak, all three of which were against Heartland opponents.
- The Lions offense has been extremely explosive so far. Their latest win came against Oklahoma Panhandle State University in a 104-60 landslide. Seth Youngblood leads the Lions with 14.5 points per game on 41.4% shooting.
- UA Fort Smith has enjoyed success on the boards this year by outrebounding their opposition by a seven-point margin (first in the Heartland). The Lions are also listed at sixth in the country with 592 team rebounds.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH ARKANSAS FORT SMITH
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 11, 2016) – Two late free throws by A.J. Luckey gave Lubbock Christian University its first lead of the night at 72-71 which withstood for the final 11 seconds in a Chap victory that was highlighted by Brennen Fowler's first career double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds Thursday night inside the Rip Griffin Center.
 
Luckey compiled a game-high 22 points for LCU (16-7, 10-5 Heartland), Marcos Schuster tied a season-high with 21 while Fowler contributed career bests to push the Chaps into a three-way tie for third place with UAFS (17-6, 10-5 Heartland) and Texas A&M International with five games remaining in the regular season.
 
The Chaps trailed the entire game and were down 67-59 with 6:38 to play when Ridrell Holman drilled a three-pointer for the left wing, his only bucket of the night, to pull LCU to within five. Luckey and UAFS's Seth Youngblood traded jumpers before Fowler made two free throws to cut the deficit to three with 2:18 remaining. Darrius Parker of Arkansas-Fort Smith converted in the paint, but Schuster came through with a three from the left side for a two-point ballgame.
 
On the next trip down the floor, Luckey was fouled on a shot attempt, missed his first free throw and made the second for a 71-70 score in favor of the Lions. A blocked shot by Fowler ended up in the hands of Marcus Arrington to provide LCU with an offensive possession and the chance for the lead. Luckey was shoved down by DaVaunta Thomas, resulting in bonus free throws with 11 seconds to play. The senior guard drained both for a one-point Chap advantage, and UAFS called a timeout with eight seconds remaining. Thomas attempted a drive through the lane, but his attempt was off the mark as Schuster came in to secure the rebound and the LCU victory.
 
A Chap win did not look probable from the beginning as the Lions scored the first seven points of the contest and jumped out to a 12-2 lead five minutes in. A three by Luckey and layup by Tyler Rogers sliced the margin in half, but Lion Alex Cooper connected on a three-pointer to push UAFS out in front, 15-7, at the 13:26 mark.
 
A string of five points by Luckey closed the Chaps to within 26-23 with five minutes until halftime, but a pair of three's by Ognjen Vasiljevic within a minute span upped the gap to 37-27. Nine free throws were shot amongst the teams in the final 63 seconds before the break, including two by Luckey with one second remaining for a 41-33 Lion advantage.
 
For UAFS, Dusan Stojanovic scored a team-high 15 points, Youngblood had 14 and Thomas added 13.