LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (3-6) at No. 8/9 WEST TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY (8-1)
Saturday, December 9 - 7:00 PM
First United Bank Center (Canyon, Texas)
All-Time Series: West Texas A&M leads 16-5



 
NO SLEEP TILL
Lubbock Christian University men's basketball continues the top-heavy portion of their schedule on the road Saturday night with a tilt against No. 8/9 ranked West Texas A&M University. Saturday's contest will mark the Chap's fifth nationally ranked opponent of their first 10 games. LCU's previous two matches have come against No. 25 Dallas Baptist and No. 7/22 Arkansas Fort Smith to open up the Heartland Conference schedule. Lubbock Christian has yet to topple a ranked opponent this season.
 
LCU has drawn a tough schedule, not only against ranked opposition but against perennial strong programs. The Chaps schedule is ranked as the toughest within the NCAA Division II ranks according to the NCAA Statistics Department. Their prior NCAA opponents have combined for a 37-3 record to open up the year for a .925 winning percentage.

SATURDAY REWIND
LUBBOCK, Texas (December 2, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University fell to 3-6 on the season Saturday afternoon, inside Rip Griffin Center, following a 75-69 loss to an undefeated No. 7/22 University of Arkansas Fort Smith program. The Chaparrals marked a season-low 37.1% from the field but came one rebound shy of a season-high performance on the boards. Isaac Asrat (26 points) and Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath (15 points) marked double-scoring figures for LCU in the loss.
 
LCU's afternoon started out on the right foot as the Chaps jumped out to an early 9-3 lead over the Lions within the opening four minutes of play. Arkansas Fort Smith snapped out of their slumber and came back with eleven unanswered points to take their first lead of the afternoon at 14-9 with 13:06 on the clock. Two minutes later, Brennen Fowler came up with a huge block that created a fast break for Asrat who converted on a layup bringing the Chaps within one-point, 16-15, of the Lions. Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath checked into the game for Lubbock Christian and immediately scored four points to return the lead to the Chaparrals at 20-16. Gilbreath struck again at the 4:14 mark with a three-pointer to put the Chaps up by seven, 35-28. Arkansas Fort Smith began chipping away at LCU's lead for the remainder of the period. The Chaps were charged a technical foul with seven seconds remaining in the half. Darrion Strong-Moore knocked down a pair free throw for UAFS to tie the ballgame up 39-39 at halftime.
 
Asrat knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the opening period on his way to 6-of-11 from the field for 15 points. Gilbreath accounted for three triples of his own on the way to 11 first half points. Lubbock Christian shot 16-for-35 (45.7%) from the floor while limiting the Arkansas Fort Smith offense to four three-pointers and 13 field goals for a 41.9% shooting average. Stephen Lennox could not be matched on the boards and scooped up six defensive rebounds while adding three points and a block for the Chaparrals.
 
Ladarius Coleman opened up the second half for Arkansas Fort Smith with a quick jumper to put the Lions ahead of the Chaps. UAFS then scored eight more unanswered points before a layup by LCU's Asrat put an end to the Fort Smith scoring run. Lubbock Christian attempted to mount a comeback after Gilbreath sped out and converted a fast break layup to bring the Lion's lead to 53-45 with 12:40 to play. UAFS continued their pressure and extended their lead to 14 points, 61-47, for their largest lead of the game. Lennox kicked off a late-game offensive surge for the Chaparrals after netting two free throws. Asrat continued to pump life back into the Lubbock Christian offense with a clutch three-pointer that cut Arkansas Fort Smith's lead to 71-68 with 21 seconds remaining. But UAFS kept their foot on the gas and ultimately outlasted the Chaps on the way to a 75-69 victory over LCU.
 
Asrat added in 11 more points for Lubbock Christian within the second period. Brennen Fowler scooped up six boards leading the Chaparrals to 24 rebounds in the final period. Lennox accounted for six points and five rebounds of his own.

Despite holding Arkansas Fort Smith to a season low 38.3% shooting performance, LCU could not find a rhythm of their own. The Chaps posted a season-low 37.1% field goal percentage by going 26-of-70 from the floor. While Asrat (26 points) and Gilbreath (15 points) led the scoring efforts for Lubbock Christian, Lennox grabbed a season-high nine points and 11 rebounds to lead the Chaparrals on the glass. The LCU squad accounted for 13 points off of the bench and 32 points from inside the paint.

HIGH POWERED OFFENSES
LCU is riding a two-game losing streak, following Saturday's defeat at home against Arkansas-Fort Smith. Of the Chaps three wins this season, two have come against NCAA programs. Last season, the Chaparrals went 1-2 against opponents within the top-25, with their lone win coming in a 95-86 victory over then-No.16 West Texas A&M (11/17/16). Lubbock Christian has allowed an average of 76.1 points per game this season. Of LCU's nine prior opponents this season, seven teams are scoring 80 points or more on the year in their respective schedules.
 
CHAP LEADERS
Isaac Asrat once again led the Chaparrals scoring efforts in their most recent outing against UAFS with 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting. For the year, Asrat has averaged 21.7 points per game. The junior has recorded five games with 20 or more points and is shooting 53.5% from beyond the arc this season. Asrat ranks fourth in the nation for three-point field goals made (38) and three-point field goals per game (4.22).
 
Junior Brennen Fowler leads the LCU roster for rebounds with 74 on the year, 54 of which have come on the defensive end of the floor. Fowler is averaging 8.2 boards per contest and posted a season-high 14 rebounds against Texas A&M – Commerce (one rebound shy of a career-high). The Smyer, Texas product has also posted 16 blocks this season for a 1.78 blocked shots per game average. Most recently, Fowler registered five blocks against Arkansas-Fort Smith marking a single game career-high for the junior. 
 
Marcos Schuster leads the Chaps in the passing category with 34 assists on the season. He is averaging 3.8 dimes per game and six assists in each of his past two performances. Schuster's 34 assists list him sixth in the Heartland Conference.
 
SHOOTING ABOVE THE MARK
Lubbock Christian has shot 45% or higher in seven of their nine contests this season. The Chaps have averaged 75.2 points per game while shooting a combined 46.6% from the field. LCU has failed to score 70 points or more in three contests, one of which turned into a 69-65 road win over Angelo State University (Nov. 26).
 
WTAMU FACTS
- The Buffaloes head into Saturday night's contest following their first loss of the season at the hands of University of Texas Permian Basin Tuesday night. WTAMU is 8-1 overall on the season and 2-1 in Lone Star Conference matches. With WTAMU suffering a loss, they serve as LCU's first NCAA opponent that is not unbeaten this season.
- West Texas A&M's offense features a fast-paced tempo that has been able to get to the basket with ease. The Buffs are scoring 94.4 points per game, while shooting 46.5% from the field on the year. 
- David Chavlovich leads the Buffs squad with 23.3 points per contest. Chavlovich is one of four WTAMU players averaging double-scoring figures this season.
- West Texas A&M has made a habit of getting to the free throw line this season ranking fifth in the nation for free throws made (196) on 254 attempts.
- Jordan Evans ranks fourth nationally for three-pointers made (38) over his first nine games. Evans has posted a 39.2% average from downtown.

RIVALRY AGAINST WTAMU
West Texas A&M holds a 16-5 edge over the Chaparrals dating back to 1978 where the Buffs took a 97-83 win over LCU. Since then, the Chaps have won the past three consecutive matches of the series, with the last two victories coming inside Rip Griffin Center. WTAMU's 16-5 record stands while both school are listed as four-year universities. When including Lubbock Christian's junior college days, the Buffaloes series advantage jumps to 21-10 over Lubbock Christian. Since Todd Duncan became head coach of the Chaparral program in the 2011-2012 season, the Chaps have gone 4-1 against the Buffs.

PRIOR MEETING WITH WTAMU
LUBBOCK, Texas (November 17, 2016) – Brennen Fowler's (17 points, 13 rebounds) double-double spearheaded a group of six Chaparrals in double figures offensively, and Lubbock Christian University was able to hold off a 28-9 run to defeat No.16 West Texas A&M 95-86 Thursday evening in an emotion-filled and whistle-filled contest inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
WT came out with the hot-hand as they streaked to an early 7-0 lead within the first three minutes, until a three-pointer by LCU's Ridrell Holman cut into the Buffs lead. Tyler Rogers initiated a 13-3 run for Lubbock Christian to provide the games first and only lead change. With 6:45 left in the half, the West Texas A&M bench picked up the first of what would eventually four technical fouls for WT. LCU freshman Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath converted his first two free throws of the evening to put the Chaparrals up 31-16. LCU increased their lead to a sizable 24 points before a three-pointer by WTAMU's Jordan Evans cut the Chaps lead to 45-24 at halftime.
 
Lubbock Christian held the Buff's offense to 10-32 (31.3%) field goal shooting and a meager 3-16 (18.8%) from behind the arc at the break. David Chavlovich, who averages 18.6 points per game for the Buffaloes, was held to a mere five points at halftime. LCU drained 19-30 (63.3%) from the field with a pair of three-pointers from Gilbreath and Holman. Gilbreath was the only Chap in double-figures at the break with 11 points. Lubbock Christian finished the half a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line, with Gilbreath knocking down four of them due to WT's two technical fouls. The Chap bench also outscored the WT bench 24-5 in the first half.
 
Fowler got things going in the second half for the Chaps as he scored a quick layup to put LCU up 47-24. At the 17:12 mark, Skylar O'Laughlin picked up WT's third technical foul of the game and sent LCU's Gilbreath back to the charity stripe to split a pair of free throws and increased the Chap lead to 53-29. With just over 12-minutes left in the game, West Texas A&M picked up their fourth and final technical foul. The Class-A technical was the third technical directed towards the WT coaching staff and it resulted in the ejection of Buffs assistant coach Chris Gove and head coach Tom Brown. Again, Gilbreath knocked down both free throws to give the Chaps even more energy. A jumper by Holman at the 11:15 mark put Lubbock Christian up 70-43 for their largest lead of the game at 27-points.
 
WT's Chavlovich finally had enough as he scored 20 points on his own in the final eight minutes. Chavlovich knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Chap lead to 13-points with 4:34 left in regulation. Lubbock Christian traded points with the Buffs until WT's Jordan Evans drained his final three-pointer of the night to cut the LCU lead to 87-78. Things got even closer for the Chaps as another Chavlovich three-pointer cut Lubbock Christian's lead to 87-84 with 1:35 left to play. WT, forcing 12 turnovers in the game's final 7:30 (LCU had 13 turnovers in the game prior to that stretch), forced the Chaps 25th turnover with 1:18 remaining, but Jordan Evans missed the equalizing bucket. Fowler scored six of LCU's final eight points to close out the huge 95-86 upset over the No. 16 Buffaloes.
 
In total, there were 53 fouls called throughout the game with Lubbock Christian on the receiving end of 27. The teams combined for eight free-throw attempts in the first half and 53 attempts in the second half. The Chaps shot 25-30 from the free throw line and just over 61% percent (32-52) from the field. The Chaparrals also scored 40 points in the paint compared to WT's 26. WT, who shot just 31.3% (10/32) from the field, had a 27-16 scoring advantage off a 25-16 turnover advantage. The 25 turnovers by LCU was the most since they committed 35 on Nov. 6, 2012 against Our Lady of the Lake (LCU won both games).
 
There were six different Lubbock Christian players scoring in double figures, with Fowler co-leading the squad with Tyler Rogers (17 points). Gilbreath (14 points), Holman (12 points), Jay Workman (11 points) and Marcus Arrington (10 points) joined Fowler and Rogers. LCU's Holman and Workman each netted a pair of three-pointers to help the Chaps shoot 6-12 from behind the arc. Chavlovich led all scorers with 26 points for the Buffs, who also received 16 points from Joseph Prince, 15 points from Jordan Evans and 10 points from Skyler O'Laughlin. WT fell to 5-1 on the season with the loss.