RANDALL UNIVERSITY (2-6) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (0-3)
Monday, November 20 - 7:00 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU Leads Series 3-0


LCU Twitter: @LCUChaps, @LCU_Chaps
RU Twitter: @RUSaints
Tweet #LCUvsRU
 
THE SITUATION AHEAD
Lubbock Christian University returns to Rip Griffin Center for their home opener Monday evening against the Randall University Saints. Tipoff is set to take place at 7 p.m. on the LCU campus. The Chaparrals are still looking for their first victory of the 2017-2018 campaign and stand with an 0-3 record so far on the year.
 
LAST GAME RECAP
ODESSA, Texas (November 15, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University men's basketball had a mammoth task on their hands Wednesday night facing No. 6 University of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas. Though they attempted a 14-point comeback, the Chaps ultimately fell to the Falcons by a final score of 85-80. Junior guard Isaac Asrat had himself a monstrous game scoring 21 points on six three-pointers and a trio of free throws for Lubbock Christian.
 
It was Texas – Permian Basin that got onto the scoreboard first for the evening jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead over the Chaparrals. LCU quickly found their feet and roared back to steal the lead at 10-9 after a long-range triple by Jay Workman at the 13:33 mark of the opening half. Lubbock Christian's advantage was short-lived as UTPB responded with a 16-3 scoring run that ended at the 8:04 mark. LCU sophomore Kentton Williams marked his second bucket of the night to disrupt the Falcon's offense and cut the Chaparral deficit to 25-15 with 7:45 on the clock. Texas – Permian Basin answered with a field goal of their own to take their largest lead of the half at 12 points on a jumper by Amari Bryant. Stephen Lennox took possession before being fouled and heading to the line for a pair of Lubbock Christian free throws. After Lennox converted on both shots, the Chaparrals proceeded to throw down a 9-2 run that was highlighted by five consecutive points from Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath to bring the UTPB lead to 31-28 with 2:37 left in the half. Lubbock Christian gave up six more points in the period while scoring two more free throws setting the score to 37-30 in favor of the Falcons at halftime.
 
LCU once again got out to a slow first half shooting 33.3% from the field on 8-of-24 attempts. Williams and Gilbreath led the Chaps with seven points apiece in the period to keep LCU within striking distance. Jay Workman posted six points in the half on two of Lubbock Christian's three buckets from behind the arc.
 
Though the Chaparral defense held UTPB to 3-of-12 shooting from three-point range, the Falcons tallied a 45.2% (14-of-31) mark from the field in the half. James McPherson paved the way for Permian Basin accounting for 18 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
The second half opened up with over a full minute of scoreless play before Daeshon Francis netted a couple of free throws for Texas – Permian Basin at the 18:55 mark. Just over a minute later, McPherson once again made his presence known with a triple that extended UTPB's lead to 14 points, 44-30, their largest of the night. The Chaps came back and moved the ball around before Marcos Schuster found Isaac Asrat, who had two points in the opening half, for a three-pointer to pump some life back into the LCU offense. UTPB tried quieting LCU down with a jumper from Bryant placing the score at 46-33 with 17:12 on the clock. Asrat was having none of that as he found his stroke and scored seven of the Chaparral's next nine points to bring Lubbock Christian within eight points of the Falcons at 50-42. The Chaps proceeded to trade baskets with UTPB before Kentton Williams split a pair of free throws for Lubbock Christian with 10:27 remaining. Asrat then nailed his fifth three pointer of the half before Workman knocked down a triple of his own to even the score at 65 with 7:05 to play. Brennen Fowler drained a go-ahead jumper to hand LCU their first lead since a 10-9 advantage in the first half. Williams followed with a long-range bucket from behind the arc giving the Chaparrals their largest lead of the game at 70-65. UTPB's McPherson evened the game back up at 75 after a pair of free throws at the 3:28 mark. Williams hit one final free throw for LCU giving the Chaps their final lead of the game, 75-74, before Josh Morris converted inside the paint for the Falcons to provide the game's final lead change. Asrat nailed his final trey of the night with 29 seconds left, but it was not enough as Texas Permian Basin went on to finish Lubbock Christian 85-80.
 
Asrat provided the second half heroics for LCU with 19 points in the period on 6-of-7 (85.7%) shooting from beyond the arc. Fowler accounted for nine points in the half while Williams worked in seven points of his own. Workman tacked on five points and four assists throughout the final 20 minutes.
 
Texas – Permian Basin got to the free throw line 37 times on the evening converting on 24 for a 64.9% free throw average. McPherson carried the Falcons with a game-high 36 points in addition to four rebounds and three assists. As a team, UTPB shot 47.4% (27-of-57) from the floor.
 
Asrat's season-high 21-point performance marked one of four Chaparral's to record double-scoring figures. Williams posted 14 points for himself while Workman and Fowler each tabbed 11 points. After a shaky opening half, LCU recorded a season-high 48.1% (26-of-54) performance from the field and 73.3% average from downtown. Lubbock Christian marked 17 points from the bench and turned 18 points off of turnovers.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Monday night's contest will serve as Lubbock Christian's first home game of the season. The Chaparrals have not played inside Rip Griffin Center since a 91-80 victory over St. Edward's last season (2/25/17). LCU finished the 2016-2017 campaign with a 12-3 record at home and have not lost a non-conference contest inside Rip Griffin Center since a 78-74 loss against Colorado School of Mines (11/12/16) at the beginning of last season. As a team, the Chaps averaged 82.5 points at home while holding opponents to 69.8 point per game in the 2016-2017 campaign.
 
CHAP PLAY THIS SEASON
Lubbock Christian heads into Monday night with an 0-3 record to open up the season. The winless start marks the first time in the Todd Duncan era that the Chaps have failed to win one of their first three contests. So far, LCU is averaging 77.3 points per game on the offensive end of the floor. Junior Isaac Asrat is averaging 18 points per game on 40.5% shooting from the field and 54.5% from beyond the three-point line. Asrat is coming off of an impressive 21-point performance where he rained down six second-half three-pointers.
 
THREE-BALL
As a squad, the Chaparrals are shooting a 49.1% mark from three-point range. Their average through three games, from behind the arc, ranks them 11^th in the nation for three-point percentage. With their 77.3 points per game mark, LCU is averaging 26.1 points from downtown in each game. Asrat currently leads the Chaps with 12 made treys on the season while Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath has knocked down five of his own to hold the team's second place position in the category.
 
STACKING THE OPPOSITION
Lubbock Christian's schedule already ranks tied for first among the nation for strength. Every team that they have played still holds an undefeated record. Two of Lubbock Christian's three losses have come at the hands of opponents were ranked in the top-10 at the time of the game.
 
RANDALL FACTS

• Randall enters Monday night's game with a 2-6 record to open up their 2017-2018 season. Their most recent win came in a 77-64 result over St. Mary's University in the St. Mary's Classic over the weekend.
• The Saints offense is averaging 78.6 points per game through their first eight contests. As a team, Randall has shot 40.5% from the field and 36.0% from beyond the arc.
• Xavier Hunter leads the RU squad averaging 20.4 points per game in addition to 3.3 rebounds per contest. Hunter is averaging 46.2% from the field while playing 28.3 minutes per game.
• Randall is coming off of a 2016-2017 campaign where they won the NCCAA National Championship. They downed Kentucky Christian University 90-76 in the championship game (3/11/17).
• The Saints squad is relatively young as they only show four seniors on their roster. However, all four seniors have been key starters for RU throughout the beginning of the season.
• Randall University is in its second year; however, the institution has been around longer as they were formerly known as Hillsdale Freewill Baptist University.

 
THE SERIES AGAINST RU
The Chaparrals have amassed a perfect 3-0 record against the Saints dating back to the 2014-2015 season. Two of LCU's three victories have come by a margin of 25 points or more. All three of the meetings between the squads have taken place at Rip Griffin Center. In their most recent victory, LCU's Brennen Fowler threw down a double-double scoring 17 points to go along with 14 rebounds while Jay Workman drained 17 points and four assists in the win.