EASTERN NEW MEXICO UNIVERSITY (4-8) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (4-8)
Saturday, December 30 - 2:00 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: Series Tied 31-31



 
CLOSING OUT THE YEAR
Lubbock Christian University has the opportunity to finish out the calendar year on a high note Saturday afternoon against Eastern New Mexico University inside Rip Griffin Center. The Chaps are looking to right the ship after opening up the year with a 4-8 overall record. Their tilt against the Greyhounds will serve as their final nonconference match of the season. LCU has gone 4-6 in their non-conference schedule to kick off the 2017-2018 campaign.

TUESDAY REWIND
LUBBOCK, Texas (December 19, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University men's basketball fell to a 4-8 record on the season Tuesday night after an 83-77 loss to Angelo State University inside Rip Griffin Center. The Chaps were led by sophomore Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath's career-high 22 points in the effort.
 
LCU found themselves down early as Angelo State jumped out to a quick 12-3 lead four minutes into the contest. Isaac Asrat was fouled on a three-point attempt sending him the line for a trio of free throw shots. After knocking down two of his three attempts, the Ram's lead was cut to six points. James Kirksey contested for ASU knocking down a jumper inside the paint to put Angelo State back up 21-13 with 10:40 left in the half. Brennen Fowler came back with an LCU layup sparking a 12-5 run for the Chaparrals that narrowed the Angelo State lead to 26-25. Gilbreath then came down the court and provided a huge block for the Lubbock Christian defense that was picked up by Marcos Schuster. Schuster flipped the ball up the court to Rashaan Proctor who converted the fast break layup giving the Chaps their first lead of the night. LCU spent the next three minutes on an 8-2 scoring run where Fowler accounted for three of the Chaparral's four buckets. Gilbreath knocked down three pointers on back-to-back possessions pushing Lubbock Christian to a 41-32 advantage. Despite ASU's Antonio Singleton sinking two free throws before the break, the Chaps entered halftime with a seven-point lead at 41-34.
 
Though they struggled for the opening portion of the half, LCU found their rhythm and closed the period shooting 46.9% (15-of-32) from the field. Fowler and Gilbreath each had 11 points and four rebounds to lead the Chaps. Schuster provided three steals for Lubbock Christian who outscored the Rams 12-3 in points off of turnovers.
 
Angelo State was held to a 37.5% average from the field in the first period on 12-of-32 shooting. Antonio Singleton drained two of this three field goals while going a perfect 4-for-4 from the stripe to lead the Rams with nine points. Brandon Williams' seven boards pushed ASU to a 21-19 edge over LCU for the first period.
 
Angelo State opened up the second half with seven unanswered points to tie up the ballgame at 41-41. Gilbreath disrupted the Ram's offensive efforts with his third triple of the evening, returning the lead back to LCU. Kirksey and Will Adler came right back with consecutive baskets to regain the lead for ASU. Zach Stepp checked into the game for his second half debut and immediately drilled a three-pointer of his own to put the Chaps back on top, 47-45. Lubbock Christian's lead spanned less than a minute when Angelo State rushed back to a 57-52 advantage with just over 13 minutes to play. Stepp threw up another three-point attempt the fell off the mark but Stephen Lennox crashed the rim to scoop up the offensive rebound before throwing down a two-handed jam to put the Chaps up 59-57. Lubbock Christian pushed the tempo and attempted to maintain their lead, but a pair of go-ahead free throws by ASU's Daron Mims marked the final lead change of the evening for the Rams. Angelo State scored five of the game's final seven points to put the Chaparrals away 83-77.
 
Gilbreath showed his consistency with 11 more points in the second period. Stepp knocked down two of LCU's four three-pointers in the half while helping the Chaps to a 42.3% (11-of-26) shooting mark.
 
Angelo State finished the night with a 47.5% field goal average and 20-for-29 (69%) from the free throw line. Williams closed out with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead five Ram players to in double scoring figures. Kirksey joined Williams with a double-double recording 17 points and 10 rebounds on his own.
 
Lubbock Christian tallied 38 points from inside the paint and 43 points from the bench. The Chaparrals converted on 26 of their 58 field goals for a 44.8% shooting mark. Gilbreath posted a game-high 22 points going 8-for-16 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Fowler (13 points) and Schuster (12 points) joined Gilbreath in double-scoring figures. Schuster also accounted for a career-high six steals. LCU's season-high nine steals allowed the Chaps to 22 points off of turnovers.

PAINTING A PICTURE
The Chaps have made their mark mostly inside the paint this season averaging 32.3 points per game from inside the key. LCU has outscored opponents from the lane in eight of their 12 contests, while scoring 42.8% of their points for the year from the painted area. Brennen Fowler's team-leading 8.5 rebounds per game has pushed the Chaparrals to an average of 35.8 boards per contest.
 
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
Lubbock Christian has proved themselves a second half team, posting an average of 39.8 points per game in the second half. LCU averages 75.6 total points per contest and they average 35.8 points per game in the first half.
 
FROM THE STRIPE
LCU has made their way to the free throw line 21.7 times each game. Of those attempts, the Chaps have tucked away a 70% team free throw average scoring 15.2 points per game from the charity stripe. Isaac Asrat leads the Lubbock Christian squad with 43 made free throws for a 79.6% mark from the stripe.
 
ENMU FACTS
- Like the Chaparrals, Eastern New Mexico heads into Saturday's contest with a 4-8 overall record for the season. The Greyhounds have lost eight of their last nine contests.
- ENMU is allowing 80.2 points per game this season on the defensive side of the ball. Of their eight losses, five have come in double-digit deficits.
- Lamarquis Thompson leads the Greyhound squad in scoring and rebounds, averaging 11.5 points and 5.6 boards per game.
- Eastern New Mexico has forced opponents into 14.5 turnovers per game. Additionally, the Greyhound defense has flipped those turnovers for 17.1 points per game off of turnovers alone.
- ENMU has played five matches on the road going for a 1-4 record in those away contests.

RIVALRY AGAINST ENMU
The rivalry between the squads stands at a stalemate, with both teams winning 31 games each. LCU has won the past two meetings, with the most recent coming in a 73-67 road result over the Greyhounds in Portales, N.M. last season (Dec. 13, 2016).

PRIOR MEETING WITH ENMU
PORTALES, N.M. (December 13, 2016) - Lubbock Christian University wrapped up their non-conference schedule Tuesday night with a 73-67 victory over Eastern New Mexico University at Greyhound Arena, in a game that featured 16 scoring changes.
 
The Chaps were led by strong play from their big men. Brennen Fowler battled his way to a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Chuck Kendley picked up right where he left off at Cameron, posting 18 points and seven boards. Senior Ridrell Holman led the Chaps from behind the arc (4-of-11) and tallied 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal. LCU outrebounded the Greyhounds 43-36 and had a 32-22 scoring advantage in the paint.
 
LCU struck first, as Chuck Kendley cut to the hole and laid the ball up and in for the game's first points. The Chaps went back and forth with the Greyhounds until Marcos Schuster drained his first and only three-pointer of the evening to put Lubbock Christian up 8-5. Eastern New Mexico's Marquise Harris then took matters into his own hands and scored back-to-back three-pointers followed by a monstrous dunk to spark a 12-4 run and put the Greyhounds up 20-14 with 7:57 left in the first half. After the break, Lubbock Christian began cutting into Eastern's six-point lead, but a Cornell Neal three-pointer put the Greyhounds up 23-16 and gave ENMU their largest of the half. LCU's final bucket of the half came on a Ridrell Holman three-pointer with 1:56 left before the break, to cut Eastern's lead to one. Unfortunately, ENMU scored the final four points to take a 31-26 lead at halftime.
 
Although Lubbock Christian shot a meager 8-22 (36.4%) from the field, they were still able to hold the Greyhounds to 37.5% shooting (12/32). Kendley (eight points) and Holman (seven points) kept the Chaps close in the first half. Heading into the contest, ENMU was ranked fourth in the nation with 303 free throw attempts. In the first half, Lubbock Christian limited the Greyhound to two free throws. Eastern grabbed the rebounding advantage in the first half by snagging 21 boards compared to LCU's 14.  
 
Although Eastern's Neal struck first in the second half with a long-range jumper from behind the arc, Lubbock Christian wasted no time with a 10-0 run highlighted by consecutive three-pointers from Holman to put the Chaps up 36-34. But again, ENMU had an answer and Javaan Mumatz nailed a pair of treys to regain the Greyhounds lead. The two squads continued to trade blows as there would be six more lead changes until Marcos Schuster split a pair of free throws to give the Chaparrals their final lead of the contest at 65-64 with 4:24 left to play. LCU and ENMU went on a scoring drought where neither team was able to convert a bucket until Isaac Cardona knocked down a mid-range jumper to give Lubbock Christian some life. The Chaps closed out the game scoring six of the game's final nine points on their way to a handy 73-67 victory.
 
Lubbock Christian came out to play in the second half, as they dropped 47 points compared to their 26 points in the first half. Sophomore Brennen Fowler added all 10 of his rebounds in the second period. Fowler shot 7-of-10 from the field and scored 14 of his 19 points after halftime. Brennen's second half highlight reel lifted the Chaps to a 54.5% (18/33) shooting mark. As for the boards, LCU outshined the Greyhounds on the glass 29-15 in the second period. Fowler was not the only Chaparral to score in the double-figures in the second half as Holman and Kendley each netted 11 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
ENMU kept themselves in the contest after halftime with their three-point game. The Greyhounds shot 7-of-15 from behind the arc in the second period while shooting 11-27 from the field. Cornell Neal and Marquise Harris led Eastern New Mexico with 17 points for the night. The duo accounted for eight of the team's 12 three-pointers. Neal also added six assists and two steals.