LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (14-9, 8-5 Heartland) at UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FT. SMITH (16-7, 9-4 Heartland)
Saturday February 11, 2017 – 3:00 PM
Stubblefield Center (Fort Smith, Ark.)
Radio: Online Only
All-Time Series: Lubbock Christian leads series 4-2
Tweet #LCUvsUAFS | Tweet #HeartlandMBB
 
HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
Lubbock Christian is meeting Arkansas Fort Smith for the sixth time in their young rivalry. The Chaps hold a 4-2 edge over the Lions in the series. LCU won the most recent meeting by a score of 84-64 (Jan. 5) inside Rip Griffin Center earlier this season. The Chaparrals have also won the past two matchups with UAFS.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THEIR LAST GAME
CLAREMORE, Okla. (February 9, 2017) – Brennen Fowler's double-double (16 points, 15 rebounds) helped Lubbock Christian University rally back from an 11-point second half deficit, but through eight lead changes, it was Rogers State completing a regular season series sweep of the Chaparrals with a 64-60 win over the Chaps Thursday night in a Heartland Conference battle inside Expo Center.
 
Rogers State got things cooking early in the contest and doubled the Chaps score for a 12-6 lead at the 10-minute mark of the first period. Brennen Fowler scored six of LCU's next eight points to pull the Chaps within three-points at 18-15. Freshman Jay Workman then knocked down a pair of free throws to pull Lubbock Christian within one-point with 7:31 left in the half. RSU was able to keep the Chaparrals at bay by scoring 11 of the final 13 points of the half to take a 35-24 lead over LCU at the break.
 
In the first half, Lubbock Christian could not get their shots to fall. As a team, the Chaps rattled off 36% (9-of-25) shooting from the field. LCU was unable to rely on their three-point game in the opening period and shot a disappointing 2-for-10 from beyond the arc. Fowler kept the Chaparrals in striking distance with 10 first half points on 80% shooting (4-of-5) from the floor. The Chaps cleared off the boards and grabbed an 18-12 rebounding advantage over the Hillcats in the period. LCU was plagued with turnovers and gave the ball up a total of 10 times in the half. Although the Chaparrals were perfect from the free throw line in the half, they only went to the charity stripe a total of four times.
 
Rogers State sunk 21 of their 35 points in the first half from three-point range on 7-of-14 from downtown. Travis Hester led the Hillcats with 15 points on a 62.5% (5-of-8) shooting mark. All 15 of Hester's points came from long-range. As a team, RSU shot 13-of-28 for a 46.4% first half field goal average.
 
LCU struck first in the second period on a jumper by Ridrell Holman, followed by a Fowler layup. Baron Smith knocked down a trey giving the Hillcats a 10-point lead (38-28). Senior Marcus Arrington completed an old-fashioned three-point play to cap a 6-0 run for the Chaps. Three minutes later, Arrington struck again with a fast break lay up that gave the Chaparrals their first lead of the game at 43-41 with 11:51 remaining in the contest. RSU quickly tied the game back up at 43-43 following a jumper by Johnathan Buckley. Holman was fouled while shooting a three-pointer and converted all three free throws to put the Chaps up 46-43 with 9:52 remaining. Once again, Rogers State persisted and quickly captured the lead from the Chaparrals with two free throws from JD Tisdale. Senior Tyler Rogers tried to provide some late game heroics for Lubbock Christian by sinking a couple of free throws of his own, putting the Chaps up 60-59 with 46 second to play. The effort was not enough for LCU, as RSU's Baron Smith closed out the contest with five straight points to hand Lubbock Christian the 64-60 loss. Marcos Schuster had an opportunity to tie the game, but his runner rolled off the rim with under five seconds left when trailing 62-60.
 
LCU came out in the second half with a stronger offensive presence. Although they remained cold from three-point range, the Chaps did most of their damage from inside the arc. LCU shot 52% (13-of-25) from the field in the half. Although Fowler only scored six points in the period, he grabbed 12 defensive boards. Holman and Rogers woke up with 10 and 12 points respectively. Arrington dished out four of LCU's seven assists in the half. Lubbock Christian's defense suffocated Rogers State and held the Hillcats to 23.8% (5-of-21) shooting in the final period of play.
 
Baron Smith Jr. and JD Tisdale were the saving grace for RSU in the second half. Smith knocked down 14 points in the half while Tisdale accounted for 12. The Hillcats converted 17 of their 23 points from the charity stripe for a 73.9% (17-for-23) clip.
 
Despite a slow first half of play, the Chaps finished the night shooting 44% (22-of-50) from the field and 86.7% (13-for-15) from the free throw line. Fowler had a mammoth game with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds notching his 15^th career double-double. LCU was dominant down low and scored 32 points inside the paint. In addition to Fowler, Ridrell Holman added 15 points on 71.4% (5-of-7) shooting. Rogers also got into double-scoring figures with 14 points on 54.5% (6-of-11) from the field. It was a tough night from the field for seniors Arrington (3-of-9), Isaac Cardona (0-of-2) and Schuster (0-of-6), who combined to shoot 17.6 % (3-of-17) from the field.
 
WINDING DOWN THE ROAD
LCU's tilt with Arkansas Fort Smith will be their final road game of the regular season. The Chaps are currently 5-5 on the road this year and 4-4 in Heartland Conference road games. Senior Ridrell Holman has led the Chaparral charge on the road. Holman is averaging 13.4 points per game on 44.2% shooting while away from Rip Griffin Center.
 
ONE FOR THE BOOKS
Brennen Fowler is coming off of a monster game in which he posted his 15^th career double-double and his ninth of the season. Fowler is leading the Heartland with 193 total rebounds. His 15 rebounds against Rogers State was a career-high and pushed his career total to 340 rebounds. Fowler is averaging a team leading 55.2% clip from the field.
 
STUBBLEFIELD SADNESS
Even though LCU has enjoyed recent success over the Lions, there is still one hump that the Chaps must get over. Since their first meeting in the 2013-14 season, Lubbock Christian has never been able to win inside of UA Fort Smith's Stubblefield Center.
 
A win on Saturday would not only give the Chaparrals a three-game streak over the Lions, it would help LCU move up the standings as the conference season comes to a close (five regular season games remaining). Closing out the Heartland season with five wins would allow the Chaps to create their own destiny and grab a higher seed in the Heartland Conference Tournament. LCU enters Saturday tied for fifth place, with a 10-4 Rogers State leading the bottlenecked standings.
 
RECOVERING FROM THE COLD
Lubbock Christian has experienced enormous success from behind the three-point line recently. The Chaps have shot 40% or higher in 10 of their contests this season. There was no bragging Thursday night against Rogers State, as the Chaparrals tied a season-low with three three-pointers for the game. LCU shot a mere 20% from downtown against the Hillcats.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT UAFS
- The Lions rank seventh nationally in free throws attempted (636) and third nationally in free throws made (476).
- UAFS ranks first in the Heartland, sixth nationally, with 1,016 total rebounds for the year.
- UA Fort Smith outrebounds opponents by an average margin of 5.6 rebounds per game.
- Seth Youngblood's 92% free throw average leads the Lion squad and the Heartland Conference. Youngblood also ranks 10^th in the nation in the free throw percentage category.
- UAFS is averaging 77.9 points per game this season. Senior guard Seth Youngblood leads the Lions offensive efforts. Youngblood is averaging 14.8 points per game.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH UAFS
LUBBOCK, Texas (January 5, 2017) - Lubbock Christian University halted a two-game skid on the shoulders of Ridrell Holman who tallied a career-high 25 points in an 84-64 win over Arkansas Fort Smith in a Heartland Conference tilt inside Rip Griffin Center. In addition to Holman's career night, Marcus Arrington showed up with 17 points and six assists, while Tyler Rogers posted 16 points of his own.
 
Isaac Cardona got things cooking for the Chaps with a quick layup over the Lion's defense. Although Marcus Wallace answered back for Arkansas Fort Smith with a three-pointer, the Chaps dialed up the pace and jumped to a 9-5 lead on a trey by Holman. LCU traded blows with the Lions before Jay Workman tied up the game at 18-18 with 11:20 to play in the half. Tyler Rogers gave Lubbock Christian a 28-25 lead on yet another Chaparral three-pointer with more than seven minutes remaining. UAFS tried to keep things interesting by tying up the score at 36-36 on an Alex Cooper jumper, but the Chaps pecked away at UAFS's defense. Holman could not seem to miss as he was fouled while netting his second three-pointer of the evening with 1.5 seconds remaining in the half. Ridrell drained the free throw giving LCU a 44-36 lead going into the break.
 
Offense was the name of the game for both squads in the first half, as LCU narrowly edged out the Lions on the boards by a margin of 14-13. The Chaps held UAFS to 11-26 (42.3%) shooting. Marcus Arrington lit up with 14 points on 5-of-6 (83.3%) from the field. Holman shot 3-of-5 from the floor, two of which were behind the arc. Rogers was a perfect 3-of-3, in addition to his sole free throw, to grab eight points before the break. As a unit, Lubbock Christian picked their spots and shot 53.6% (15/28) from the floor while shooting 54.5% (6/11) from downtown. LCU was a flawless 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.
 
UAFS spread the floor in the first period and shot 46.2% (6/13) from three-point land, while grabbing a 42.3% (11/26) field goal percentage. Seth Youngblood led the Lion's charge with 15 first half points. Twelve of Youngblood's 15 came from behind the arc. In total, there were six tie scores and six lead changes in the first half.
 
LCU returned to the hardwood after a breather and picked up right where they left off. Fort Smith tried to mount a comeback on the shoulders of Youngblood, but Tyler Rogers showed that he had the shooter's touch with back-to-back three-pointers that bounced off of the front iron before they fell in. Rogers' pair of treys gave the Chaps a 13-point lead at 62-49 with 12:12 left to play. Lubbock Christian never looked back from there, as they sped off to an 84-64 victory after a final layup by Michael Grant.
 
In total, the Chaparrals threw down a season-high 11 three-pointers on 21 attempts, four of which came from Holman. Ridrell's 16 points in the second half were mainly due in part to 10 shots from the charity stripe (knocked down eight). Rogers remained untouched with eight more points in the second period. Although LCU's second half was slower than their first, it was not by much. The Chaps blew up for 44 first half points before they eased up for 40 points in the second period. Isaac Cardona led Lubbock Christian on the glass with nine total rebounds, eight of which came in the second half. The Chaps outrebounded the Lions 36-24 on the evening.
 
Lubbock Christian University finished the evening shooting 52.4% (11/21) from the three-point line, 49% (25/51) from the field, and 82.1% (23-28) from the free throw line. Holman's career-high 25 points led all scorers for the evening. Marcus Arrington (17 points) was one point shy of tying a career-high scoring performance. Arrington also dealt out six assists. Tyler Rogers followed right behind with 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
 
The Lions had six players tally points in the second period, with Youngblood accounting for nine. All nine of Youngblood's points came from downtown. As a squad, Fort Smith shot 37% (10/27) from the floor and 38.5% (5/13) from behind the arc in the second half. Although UAFS was perfect from the charity stripe in the second period, they only shot three free throws.