LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (3-4) at No.25 DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY (6-0)
Thursday, November 30 - 7:00 PM
Burg Center (Dallas, Texas)
All-Time Series: DBU leads series 26-18
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HEARTLAND OPENERS
Lubbock Christian University will open up their Heartland Conference schedule Thursday night at Burg Center in Dallas, Texas for the second consecutive year. The Chaps will take on a No.25 Dallas Baptist University program that has opened up the season with a strong 6-0 start. LCU holds a 1-1 record in Heartland Conference openers since completing their transition into NCAA Division II status at the beginning of the 2015-2016 season.

LAST GAME RECAP
SAN ANGELO, Texas (November 25, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University closed out their fourth game of the week on a high note with a 69-65 victory over Angelo State University, in San Angelo, Texas, to hand the Rams their first loss of the season. The Chaparrals were elevated on the shoulders of Brennen Fowler who flirted with a double-double and posted 24 points and nine rebounds. Isaac Asrat finished right behind him tallying 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting and a game-high four three pointers.
 
Angelo State streaked out to a quick lead after scoring the game's first nine points. The Chaps responded with eight points of their own to cut into the Angelo State lead. ASU continued to keep LCU at bay and even stretched their lead to an eight-point margin, 20-12, with 9:37 left in the half. LCU pulled within two after a Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath layup with 5:30 on the clock. The Rams came back with a 7-2 scoring run to return their lead to 31-24 with just under three and a half minutes to play in the period. Gilbreath marked the last points of the half on an and-one situation. The final 2:54 played out with neither team scoring, allowing the Rams to head into halftime with a 31-27 lead over the Chaparrals.
 
Lubbock Christian forced Angelo State into seven turnovers in the half, but only converted once for a two-point bucket. Though LCU was limited to 36.7% (11-of-30) shooting from the field, the Chaps remained in striking distance by holding the Rams to 12-of-28 from the floor in the opening period. Asrat led LCU with nine points after knocking down three of his eight attempts and one of the Chaparral's two free throws. The Chaparral defense limited ASU to three triples for a 30% average from beyond the arc.
 
Ja'Michael Brown led Angelo State's offensive efforts in the opening period with 12 points after going 5-for-10 from the floor. The Rams out performed Lubbock Christian on the boards by a 21-16 margin. James Kirksey picked up six rebounds, four of which came on ASU's defensive end. Angelo State recorded 16 of their 31 points first half points from inside the paint.
 
Kentton Williams sparked a 7-1 scoring run to open up the second half for Lubbock Christian giving the Chaps their first lead of the contest. Angelo State came back with five straight points to reestablish a three-point lead at 39-36 with 14:08 remaining. Fowler connected two minutes later on a mid-range jumper to give LCU a 43-41 advantage for the final lead change for the evening. Lubbock Christian continued to push the tempo and even extended their lead to a 56-44 margin with 9:16 remaining. ASU pulled within three-points three separate times within the final 2:30, but a go-ahead free throw by Fowler sealed the 69-65 victory for LCU.  
 
Fowler had the hot hand in the second period converting on 7-of-8 from the field for an 87.5% field goal mark. Asrat added in 14 points and five rebounds of his own on a 5-for-8 performance from the field. After a slow first period, Lubbock Christian exploded for a combined 68% (17-of-25) second half shooting mark. On defense, the Chaps held Angelo State to a trio of three-pointers and a 36.7% shooting performance in the final period.
 
LCU concluded the game with a 50.9% shooting average while holding the Rams to season-low performances from the field (39.7%) and from three-point range (20%). Fowler led the Chaparrals with a game-high 24 points. Asrat's 23 points marked his fourth contest of the year with 20 points or more. Williams distributed well for Lubbock Christian and led the squad with four assists. Despite being down for the entire first period, the Chaps bounced back and outscored ASU by a combined 34-28 margin from inside the paint.

FACING THE RANKS
The Chaparrals Thursday night tilt with DBU marks their third contest this season against a ranked opponent. LCU holds an 0-2 record when facing top-25 teams this season having lost by a combined nine points in those two contests. Todd Duncan and his squad are familiar with toppling ranked opponents. Their last victory over a ranked NCAA program came in a 95-86 upset last season against a then-No. 16 West Texas A&M University squad inside Rip Griffin Center (Nov. 17, 2016).
 
CHAP LEADERS
LCU has been able to stretch the floor this season and have their leadership from a number of positions on the court. Isaac Asrat has posed as a terror for opposing defenses, leading the Chaps with an average of 21.4 points per game. Asrat ranks third in the nation for three-point field goals made (31) and seventh nationally for triples made per contest (4.43). The junior has posted a stellar 46.1% field goal average to go along with a 56.4% mark from three-point range.
 
Brennen Fowler is coming off of a strong performance against a previously undefeated Angelo State program where he threw down 24 points and nine rebounds. Throughout the Chaps first seven contests, Fowler has led the squad on the boards averaging nine rebounds per game and combining for a total of 63. The Smyer, Texas native is one of two LCU players to log a double-double this season, a feat that he accomplished with 11 points and 14 rebounds against Texas A&M University – Commerce (11/24/17).
 
Senior Marcos Schuster has made himself the distribution point of the Lubbock Christian offense. He has dished out a team-leading 22 assists for a 3.1 per game average. Schuster has played and started in all seven of LCU's games and has averaged 30.1 minutes per game.

SHOOTING RANGE
After an 0-3 start to the season, the Chaparrals have rebounded to a 3-4 record due, in part, to some sharp shooting. Head coach Todd Duncan's squad has outscored opponents by a 1.7 margin and averaged 76.3 points per game on the offensive end. The Chap squad has given up 74.6 points per game on the defensive side of the ball. As a team, Lubbock Christian has knocked down a total of 56 three-pointers for a 43.1% mark from beyond the arc.  LCU is shooting 47.7% from the field this season.

DBU FACTS
- Dallas Baptist has accomplished a balanced start to the season with a 6-0 record. The Patriots are 2-0 at home, 2-0 at neutral sites and 2-0 in true away games. They are one  of 32 teams in NCAA Division II that remains undefeated.
- DBU was granted a No. 25 ranking in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll. The national ranking marks the first time in program history for the Patriots.
- The DBU roster features four student-athletes averaging double-scoring figures. Senior Boy Van Vliet is leading the charge posting 21.4 points per game in addition to 49 made field goals for a 55.7% shooting average.
- Dallas Baptist's 52.7 team field goal percentage ranks seventh in the nation. The Patriots are scoring 88.8 points per game and beating opponents by a 15.8 margin.
- Carter Brown has ripped 19 steals on the year, ranking him 11^th in the country with 3.17 steals per contest.

RIVALRY AGAINST DBU
The Chaparrals will be looking for revenge against the Patriots, as DBU knocked Lubbock Christian out of the Heartland Conference Tournament last season by a 72-64 victory for the Patriots. Dallas Baptist leads the all-time series 26-18, but LCU has taken three of the last four meetings dating back to the 2015-2016 season.

PRIOR MEETING WITH DBU
TULSA, Okla. (March 4, 2017) – No.5-seed Lubbock Christian University had their 2017 Heartland Conference Tournament stay cut short Saturday in a 72-64 Semifinals loss to No.1-seed Dallas Baptist University at Union Multipurpose Activities Center. Tyler Rogers was three-points shy of a career high with 25 points and 15 rebounds to complete a double-double for the Chaparrals.
 
Dallas Baptist came out swinging and bursted to a 7-0 lead within the first 90 seconds of the game. The Chaps finally found a tempo and began mounting a comeback that culminated in a three-pointer from senior Marcus Arrington to tie up the score at 15-15 at the 12:03 mark. Tyler Rogers then hit a go-ahead jumper to give LCU their first lead at 17-15. Brennen Fowler was able to open up the Chaparral lead to four-points, 21-17, with 8:59 left in the half. However, the Patriots came racing back with nine unanswered points to regain the lead at 26-21. Jay Workman and Fowler knocked down back-to-back buckets to close in on DBU's lead, but Dallas Baptist was able to score the final five points of the half to take a 36-28 advantage heading into halftime.
 
The Patriots were able to leave their mark from long-range in the opening period by outscoring LCU 12-6 from the three-point line. Both squads had almost identical numbers from the field. Lubbock Christian posted a 40% (12-of-30) field goal mark while DBU shot 42.9% (12-of-28) from the floor. Fowler and Ridrell Holman scored six points each in the opening period to lead the Chaparral offense. Fowler had six boards while Rogers grabbed five to push the Chaps to 17 rebounds in the half.
 
Myles Johnson led the Patriot roster with nine points on three treys in the first half. As a team, DBU shot 42.9% (6-of-14) from long-range in the period. Xavier Ledet snagged 10 of Dallas Baptist's 17 rebounds.
 
Ledet wasted no time on the offensive end by converting a layup just 23 seconds into on the second period. Dallas Baptist opened up their lead to 13-points, 50-37, following a triple by Julian Miranda at the 14:21 mark. Tyler Rogers proceeded to take over the LCU offense for the remainder of the half and scored 14 of Lubbock Christian's final 27 points for the game. Unfortunately for the Chaps, his presence was not enough to overcome their first-half deficit as LCU ultimately fell to the Patriots 72-64 to close out the contest.
 
Rogers went on a tirade and posted a double-double in the second half alone. He scored 21 of Lubbock Christian's 36 second half points on 63.6% (7-of-11) shooting and 77.8% (7-for-9) from the free throw line. The Chap unit shot 45.2% (14-of-31) from the field, while holding the Patriots to 34.6% (9-of-26) from the floor. In almost every other category, LCU and DBU were virtually identical. Both squads posted six steals, one block, nine turnovers, four assists and 36 points in the second half.
 
Lubbock Christian was unable to find their rhythm from distance and only shot 18.2% (2-of-11) from behind the arc. Dallas Baptist outscored the Chaps 27-6 from three-point range and LCU shot 62.5% (10-for-16) from the free throw line. DBU converted on 21 of their 33 attempts from the stripe for a 63.6% outing. The Patriots were able to break up the Chap's momentum with their range and capitalized on their first half successes. Rogers was the only Chaparral to enter double-scoring figures for the night, with his game-high 25 points and 15 rebounds. Rogers' offensive effort boosted Lubbock Christian to a 42.6% (26-of-61) average from the field.