No. 7/22 ARKANSAS FORT SMITH (8-0) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (3-5)
Saturday, December 2 - 1:00 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
Radio: 100.7 The Score
All-Time Series: Lubbock Christian leads 4-3
Tweet ##HeartlandMBB  Tweet #LCUvsUAFS



 
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Lubbock Christian University men's basketball has returned home and geared up for a bout with another undefeated squad… this time against an 8-0 University of Arkansas Fort Smith program. The Chaparrals will tip off against the Lions at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon inside Rip Griffin Center. Arkansas Fort Smith heads into the contest ranked No. 7 in the D2SIDA poll and No. 22 in the latest NABC Top-25 Coaches Poll. Saturday's game will mark LCU's fourth against a nationally ranked opponent of the season. Head coach Todd Duncan and his Chap squad are looking to rebound after an 88-74 loss at No.25 Dallas Baptist Thursday night.

THURSDAY NIGHT REWIND
Lubbock Christian University opened up their Heartland Conference schedule Thursday evening in Dallas, Texas against No. 25 ranked Dallas Baptist University. Isaac Asrat and Kentton Williams led the Chaps with 19 points each, but LCU was unable to top the Patriots and ultimately fell by a final score of 88-74.
 
LCU jumped out to a quick 6-4 lead after a pair of three-pointers by Asrat and Williams to open up the game. The Chaps and the Patriots exchanged baskets for a total of nine lead changes within the opening six minutes of play. Lubbock Christian mounted a 10-2 scoring run that was bookended by three-pointers from Asrat. The run marked the Chaparral's largest lead of the game at 23-15 with 12:52 to play in the opening half. Boy Van Vliet was then able to spark a comeback for DBU with a jumper from inside the paint. The Patriots scored 11 unanswered points over a three-minute period and went into the halftime break with a 48-41 lead over the Chaparrals.
 
Despite going into the break with a deficit, Lubbock Christian was still able to outshoot the Patriots in the half with a 14-for-25 performance (56%) from the field. Asrat knocked down 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, three of which came from beyond the arc. Stephen Lennox pulled down 6 boards, but the Chaps were still on the wrong end of a 14-13 rebounding margin. LCU was also plagued with turnovers, committing nine in the first period alone.
 
Van Vliet proved to be the catalyst for the DBU offense nabbing 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%) from the field and a pair of free throws. As a team, Dallas Baptist tallied a 51.4% (19-for-37) field goal average.
 
Chandler Jacobs opened the second period with a layup for the Patriots extending their lead to nine. Once again, Asrat and Williams partnered up for back-to-back LCU buckets to bring the Chaps within four points at 50-46. Patrick Burke scored seven of DBU's next 10 points to widen their lead to 60-48 with 14:56 to play. Lubbock Christian mounted their final comeback attempt that was highlighted by a layup from Williams to pull the Chaparrals within five points with 10:35 on the clock. LCU's efforts were not enough as the Patriots rushed to a 13-point lead following nearly three and a half minutes of scoreless play for the Chaps. DBU's offense proved to be too much and eventually took an 86-66 lead before winding down the clock and downing Lubbock Christian by a final score of 88-74.
 
Williams led Lubbock Christian in the final period with nine points and five rebounds. After opening the game with five triples in the first period, LCU was held to one second half three-pointer and 46.7% (14-of-30) from the floor. Marcos Schuster and Williams combined for 10 of the Chap's 18 rebounds in the half, but Dallas Baptist was able to match their efforts and provide 18 rebounds of their own.
 
For the second consecutive game, Lubbock Christian closed out the night with a 50.9% average from the field on 28-of-55 shooting. Williams' 19 points and eight rebounds marks his best performance of the season. The Patriots capitalized on LCU's mistakes scoring 19 points off of the Chap's season-high 22 turnovers. The Lubbock Christian squad was severely overpowered in the paint as DBU outscored the Chaparrals 48-22 inside the key.

HEARTLAND HOME OPENERS
Lubbock Christian heads into Saturday's contest 0-1 in conference play for the first time since the 2015-2016 season. The Chaparrals are 3-1 in conference home openers dating back to 2013, when they began their transition into NCAA status. Through those four contests, LCU has won by an average margin of 17.8 points. In the most recent of those Heartland home openers, the Chaps downed UAFS, 84-64, last season in a showdown that featured 11 Lubbock Christian three-pointers. 
 
TURNOVER WOES
LCU's offense has had difficulty taking care of the ball, which was magnified Thursday night against Dallas Baptist with the Chaps committing 22 turnovers. Since opening up their 2017-2018 campaign, the Lubbock Christian men have committed 15 or more turnovers in five of their eight contests. The Chaparrals have given up 124 points in total off of turnovers for an average of 15.5 points per game.
 
THREE-BALL
Lubbock Christian has continuously been poised from three-point range on the year. As a squad, they have tallied a 42.5% average from beyond the arc ranking 24^th nationally in the category. The Chaparrals are averaging 7.8 made three-point field goals per game on 18.3 attempts. Of their 606 points scored this season, 30.6% have come from behind the arc. Junior Isaac Asrat leads the squad and ranks 13^thnationally for three-pointers attempted (62), seventh nationally for threes made per game (4.25) and third nationally for triples made (38).
 
UAFS FACTS
- Arkansas Fort Smith comes into the season as the reigning Heartland Conference Tournament champions. The Lions 68-59 win over Dallas Baptist in the championship game of the 2017 Heartland Conference Tournament marked their first Heartland Tournament title in program history.
- UAFS' perfect 8-0 start on the season leaves them as one of the 32 remaining unbeaten programs in the nation.
- The Lions have shown that they are not afraid to get their hands dirty as they rank seventh nationally for free throws attempted (230). They have knocked down 151 of those free throw attempts for a 65.7% average from the charity stripe.
- UA Fort Smith is riddled with experience and has seven seniors listed on their rosters. Six of their seven seniors have transferred in from another collegiate program.
- Darrion Strong has led the Lion offense averaging 14.4 points per game on 48.5% shooting.

RIVALRY AGAINST UAFS
LCU holds a slight advantage over UAFS in the all-time series with a 4-3 edge. In the most recent meeting, Arkansas Fort Smith downed the Chaps 93-76 (Feb. 11), while knocking down 16 three-pointers for the most against an LCU squad since the 2006 season.

PRIOR MEETING WITH UAFS
FORT SMITH, Ark. (February 11, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University closed out their regular season road schedule with a 93-76 loss at Arkansas Fort Smith, as the Lions produced 16 three-pointers in the Heartland Conference battle inside Stubblefield Center Saturday afternoon.
 
The 16 UAFS three-pointers were the most allowed by LCU since John Brown University, another Arkansas based institution, drained 18 three-pointers on Jan. 14, 2006. Seven different Lions connected on the long-distance shots. UAFS opened the second half 8-of-9 from three-point range and finished with nine in the half.
 
LCU's bench played a huge role and scored 46 of the Chaps 76 points for the game. Freshman Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath led the Chaparrals with a career-high 20 points. Jay Workman also added in 14 points and six rebounds for LCU in the loss.
 
UA Fort Smith started the game with a hot-hand and jumped out to a 22-11 lead over the Chaps 10 minutes into the contest. Gilbreath proceeded to explode with seven straight LCU points to pull the Chaps within five-points of the Lions at 23-18. Following a Workman triple, Gilbreath converted a layup with 7:58 to play in the half closing the UAFS lead to 25-23. The Lions retaliated with a 14-4 run that was capped by an Alex Cooper layup, giving UA Fort Smith their largest lead of the half at 39-27. A three-pointer by Ognjen Vasiljevic closed out the half and gave the Lions a 46-38 lead going into the break.
 
The Chaps shot well in the first half, posting a 50% (13-of-26) field goal clip. Gilbreath led LCU with 13 points on 80% shooting (4-of-5) from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. UA Fort Smith edged out the Chaparrals on the glass 22-9 in the first period. Workman was perfect shooting 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the field for 10 first half points. Lubbock Christian made nine trips to the free throw line and converted on eight for an 88.9% free throw mark.
 
Alex Cooper dropped 14 first period points on a 66.7% (4-of-6) shooting average. UAFS shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line for a 91.7% mark. Fort Smith notched 21 points from long-range for a 46.7% three-point average.
 
Brett Jolly kicked off the second half with another three-pointer for the Lions. Lubbock Christian answered with an 11-2 run to close the UAFS lead to 51-49 five minutes into the half. That was the closest the Chaparrals would come, however, as Marcus Wallace sparked a 22-2 run for UAFS that consisted of six three-pointers. Although LCU attempted to close the Fort Smith lead, the Lions were able to keep the Chaps at bay and finish the game with a 93-76 victory.
 
Marcos Schuster stepped up in the second half for Lubbock Christian with 10 points on 80% (4-of-5) shooting. As a team, LCU shot 44% (11-of-25) from the field and 92.9% (13-for-14) from the free throw line. The Chaps forced the Lions into eight turnovers in the second period. Lubbock Christian posted a consistent offense by scoring 38 points in each half.
 
The Chaparrals could not keep up with the Lions explosive shooting performance. UAFS finished the contest shooting 57.1% (16-for-28) from the three-point line and they finished with more three-point field goals than to-point field goals (15). Devaunta Thomas had a game-high 21 points to boost the Lions to a 52.5% average from the floor. Alex Cooper (14 points), Marcus Wallace (13 points), Ladarius Coleman (12 points) and Seth Youngblood (12 points) joined Thomas in double-scoring figures.
 
Gilbreath's 20 points marked a career-high for the freshman and a team-high for the game. Jay Workman was next in line for LCU with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Marcos Schuster and Brennen Fowler each added 12 points in the Chaps performance. The LCU bench exploded for 46 points for the afternoon. As a squad, the Chaparrals shot 47.1% (24-of-51) from the floor.