LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN vs No. 9 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES (0-0) Friday, November 10 - 2:30 PM (Central)
Regis Fieldhouse (Denver, Colorado)
All-Time Series: Colorado School of Mines leads 2-0
Lubbock Christian University men's basketball has made their way up to Denver, Colo. to take part in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) / Heartland Crossover Challenge. LCU will play a pair of cross-conference games over the weekend beginning with Colorado School of Mines Friday, Nov. 10. Tipoff against the Orediggers is set for 2:30 p.m. (central) inside Regis Fieldhouse on the campus of Regis University. The RMAC / Heartland Crossover marks the third consecutive season for the Chaps to kick off their schedule at the challenge.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2016-17 SEASON
Head coach
Todd Duncan and his squad completed the 2016-17 season with a 19-11 overall record and a 12-6 mark in Heartland Conference games. After finishing the regular season tied for fourth place, Lubbock Christian qualified for the postseason as the No. 5-seed in the Heartland Conference Tournament. The Chaps started their postseason play on the right foot after defeating Rogers State 84-69 (3/3/17) in the opening round of the tournament.
Brennen Fowler led the charge for the Chaparrals against the Hillcats with 22 points and nine rebounds. LCU ultimately lost, however, to No. 1-seed Dallas Baptist 72-64 in the HCT semifinals (3/4/17).
RETURNERS
The Chaps look enter the 2017-2018 campaign with four returners from the prior season.
Marcos Schuster will look to lead Lubbock Christian as the lone senior. Schuster appeared in 25 games and 23 starts in the 2016-2017 season. He averaged 11.1 points per game and led Chaparral squad with 36 steals in his junior season.
Brennen Fowler returns for his junior campaign after posting a team-leading 13.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest in 2016-2017. The Smyer, Texas native led the Heartland Conference with 239 rebounds last season. He made 30 appearances coming off of the bench in 11 of those games. Fowler has consistently been a powerful presence in the paint leading the Chaparrals with 45 blocks last season.
Jay Workman enters the season as a sophomore and looks to improve upon an impressive freshman campaign where he averaged 6.6 points per game in 30 total appearances. Workman posted a 49.7% average from the field and 33.7% clip from beyond the arc.
Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath also comes into the 2017-2018 season as a sophomore. Gilbreath led the Chaparral squad last season with a 90.0% free throw average. The Amarillo, Texas native averaged six points per game on 30 appearances. He rung up a career-high 20 points against Arkansas Fort Smith (2/11/17).
WHO THEY LOST
The Chaps will have their hands full after losing four starters from last season.
Marcus Arrington,
Isaac Cardona,
Michael Grant,
Ridrell Holman and
Tyler Rogers mark the seniors from last year's squad.
Marcus Arrington dished out 383 career assists tying him for second all-time in the Heartland Conference record book. Arrington averaged a 40.9% mark from the field and a 74.6% clip from the free throw line. Over his four-year career with the Chaps, Arrington also picked up 81 steals.
Isaac Cardona served as a focal point down low in his time with Lubbock Christian. The Port Lavaca, Texas product appeared in 109 games over the course of his career, scoring 909 points in the process. In his senior campaign, Cardona averaged 5.4 point and 4.5 rebounds per game in addition to dealing 72 assists.
Michael Grant spent two seasons with Lubbock Christian where he was a 72.1% free throw shooter and a 45.7% shooter from the field. Grant accumulated 136 points and appeared in 45 contests for the Chaparrals.
Ridrell Holman played all four seasons for the LCU squad topping out with 932 career-points and averaging 8.5 points per game. He was a career 46.5% shooter and provided range for the Chaparral squad with 150 three-pointers for a 41.4% career average. His senior campaign proved to be his most impressive as a he posted 12.2 points per contest and an 83.1% percent mark from the charity stripe.
Finally, LCU will be looking to match the intensity that
Tyler Rogers brought to the court for the Chaparrals. Though Rogers played three years for Lubbock Christian after transferring in the 2013 school year, he certainly wasted no time making his mark on the Chap program. Rogers joined the 1,000-point club with 1,002 career points. In three seasons, he averaged 11.8 points per contest in addition to an 81.0% average from the free throw line. When Rogers was on the floor, defenses had to keep their heads on a swivel as No. 32 was never hesitant to attack the rim and bring the crowd to their feet with a monstrous dunk.
FRESH FACES
Coach Duncan did his diligence over the offseason making a number of additions to his roster. In total, the Chaps have added five freshmen over with Brandon Burrell (Houston, Texas), Cameron Copley (Canadian, Texas), Silas Crisler (Anderson, S.C.), Kobe Thompson (Leander, Texas) and Jerrod Fowler (Smyer, Texas).
Zach Stepp (Lubbock, Texas) returns as a redshirt freshman but was able to get acquainted with Duncan's system in the 2016-2017 season.
Rashaan Proctor (Ruston, La.; New Mexico Military Institute), Isaac Asrat (Plano, Texas; Texas A&M University - Commerce), Kentton Williams (Levelland, Texas; Southwest Assemblies of God), Stephen Lennox (Lovington, N.M.; Idaho State University) and Micah Bailey (Shallowater, Texas; Harding University) comprise the transfer class for the Chaparrals.
FIVE FACTS ABOUT COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
- The Orediggers enter the season ranked No. 9 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) preseason poll after a 30-5 overall record in 2016-2017. Colorado Mines finished last season with an impressive postseason march before losing to Bellarmine University in the Elite Eight round.
- CSM returns 10 players from last year's roster with nine of those players listed as upper classmen.
- Though Friday's game will officially open up the Oredigger's season, they did compete in an exhibition match against Colorado University earlier this season where they lost to the Buffaloes by a 78-52 mark.
- CSM recorded five losses last season with four coming on the road. The Mines program marked an 11-3 away record and a 1-1 record when playing at a neutral site.
- The 2017-2018 season marks Colorado Mines head coach Pryor Orser's 17th season at the helm of the program. In his time as a head coach, Orser has compiled a 292-173 overall record.
THE SERIES AGAINST CSM
Friday's contest will mark the third ever meeting between the Chaps and the Orediggers. Colorado Mines owns a 2-0 record over LCU with both of their wins coming in games played during the RMAC/Heartland Crossover Challenge. In their most recent matchup, CSM outlasted Lubbock Christian in a 78-74 result inside Rip Griffin Center (11/12/16).
Brennen Fowler registered a team-high 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Chaparrals in that contest.
