OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE UNIVERSITY (5-19, 0-15 Heartland) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (15-10, 9-6 Heartland)
Saturday February 18, 2017 – 3:00 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU leads 28-22
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HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
Lubbock Christian will take on Oklahoma Panhandle State University for the 51st time overall and the second time this season. The Chaparrals have won the last six meetings since joining the Heartland Conference. The most recent victory came on Jan. 12 of this season in Goodwell, Okla. where LCU handed the Aggies an 86-70 defeat. The Chaps have won four of the last six showdowns with OPSU by a margin of 15 points or more.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THEIR LAST GAME
Lubbock Christian University sophomore Brennen Fowler led the Chaparrals with a 69.2% shooting performance and a team-high 18 points to help kick off their final four-game homestand with an 80-76 Heartland Conference win over Newman University Thursday night inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
Newman jumped out to an early 14-11 lead after a three-pointer by Allen Wilson. Fowler responded with back-to-back buckets to give the Chaps their first lead of the game at 15-14 with 12 minutes left in the half. Lubbock Christian kept the Jets at bay and took an 11-point lead with just under two and a half minutes remaining in the period. However, NU came roaring back and closed out the half on a 10-1 run. The Chaparrals went into the break with a 44-42 edge over Newman.
 
Ridrell Holman provided the lift for LCU with 10 points in the opening period of play. Holman shot an impressive 80% (4-of-5) clip from the field and 2-for-2 from downtown. Brennen Fowler added eight points on 57.1% (4-of-7) shooting. As a team, the Chaps posted an efficient half by shooting 53.1% (17-of-32) from the field and 7-for-10 from the free throw line. Marcus Arrington was perfect from the stripe and added all six of his first half points from the free throw line.
 
Allen Wilson (13 points) and Daniel Green (10 points) were the only Newman players to break into double-scoring figures in the first half. The Jets shined bright on the glass and outrebounded LCU 18-15 in the opening period. NU was sent to three free throw line 16 times in the half and converted on 14 to capture an 87.5% mark.
 
Fowler struck first for LCU in the second period with a layup in the opening minute. Newman's Kevin Bryant brought the Jets within one-point after knocking down a pair of free throws at the 17:23 mark. Marcos Schuster then sparked a 10-0 run for LCU that allowed the Chaps to take a 59-48 lead just six minutes in to the second half. Newman once again began chipping away at the Lubbock Christian edge and eventually moved ahead of the Chaps 70-69 after a trey by Taylor Schieber with 7:57 left in the contest. The lead changed hands seven more times within the next six minutes of play before the Chaparrals scored the final five points of the game to take an 80-76 victory over Newman.
 
LCU continued their offensive tirade by shooting 56.3% (15-of-28) from the field in the second half. Brennen Fowler and Tyler Rogers each added 10 points in the period and accounted for 20 of Lubbock Christian's 36 points in the final 20 minutes.
 
Newman held the Chaps to 1-of-6 from the three-point line in the final period and only allowed LCU to convert 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Taylor Schieber woke up for the Jets and scored 17 points in the half. Schieber's 5-of-6 shooting helped push the Newman squad to a 44.4% (12-of-27) average from the field in the second period.
 
Lubbock Christian had three players in double figures in scoring. Fowler led the offensive charge with 18 points. Tyler Rogers added in 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Senior Ridrell Holman accounted for 14 points and five rebounds. Rogers and Holman each sunk two three-pointers to account for all of LCU's triples for the evening.
 
ROAD TO TULSA
Lubbock Christian has three more regular season contests to move their way up the Heartland Conference standings. A move up the conference table would allow the Chaps to grab a better seed heading into the Heartland Conference Tournament. LCU is currently sitting in fifth place and will have to rely on the top-four teams to beat each other up during the remainder of the season. Of the three remaining games on the Chaparral's schedule, all three opponents currently reside in the bottom half of Heartland rankings.
 
MID-RANGE EFFICIENCY
The LCU squad is coming off of a particularly impressive shooting performance against Newman University on Thursday evening. The Chaps shot a scorching 53.3% from the field over the Jets and came out on top with an 80-76 victory. In total, LCU has shot over 50% in nine total games this season. Although Lubbock Christian has posted an impressive 46.9% field goal mark in the Heartland season, the Chaps have accumulated a 47.4% shooting mark for their overall 2016-17 schedule, which ranks second in the conference.
 
900-CAREER POINTS
Tyler Rogers is the only current LCU player on the roster to score over 900 points throughout his career. Not far behind is Isaac Cardona, who needs 14 points to join the 900-point club. Ridrell Holman is also on pace to join Rogers. Holman is posting 12.3 points per game and is sitting at 872 career-points, leaving him just 28 points shy of the mark.
 
SCORING DEFENSE
The LCU defense has been a key component to the Chap's game plan this season. Lubbock Christian stands third in the Heartland for their scoring defense that allows just 71.2 points per game. The defensive unit is holding opponents to a 43% shooting mark. Brennen Fowler ranks second in the conference with 38 total blocks and 1.5 blocks per game. Marcos Schuster is listed at fourth in the Heartland Conference with 34 steals in 21 games played.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT OPSU
- This game marks the final contest between LCU and OPSU as Heartland Conference foes. After this season, the Aggies will be moving to participate in the NAIA ranks.
- The Aggies are riding a 30-game conference-losing streak. Their last win over a Heartland opponent came in an 83-72 victory over Oklahoma Christian (Jan. 7, 2016).
- The OPSU offense is averaging 73.8 points per game, while their defense is allowing 90.3 points per contest.
- Four of OPSU's five wins have come in Goodwell, Okla.
- Oklahoma Panhandle State has been plagued by turnovers. The Aggies are averaging 16.5 turnovers per game.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH OPSU
GOODWELL, Okla. (January 12, 2017) - Lubbock Christian University jumped back on track by defeating Oklahoma Panhandle State 86-70 Thursday evening in Heartland Conference action inside Oscar Williams Field House. Five different Chaparrals tallied double figures in scoring and 40 of LCU's 86 points came from their bench. LCU nailed 10 three-pointers in the game, with four coming from Ridrell Holman.
 
Tyler Rogers kicked things off for LCU by splitting a pair of free throw just 20 seconds into the game. OPSU quickly answered with back-to-back three pointers from Sita Sesay and Jake Regier to give the Aggies an early 6-1 lead. A monstrous dunk and a mid-range jumper by LCU's Rogers evened the score up at 8-8 at the 15:32 mark of the opening period. Regier immediately knocked down another trey and gave Panhandle State an 11-8 lead before two quick buckets by Brennen Fowler helped regain the lead for the Chaps. Roddy Pierre converted an old fashioned three-point play to return the lead to the Aggies at 14-12. Fowler then knocked down two free throws at the 10:08 mark to give Lubbock Christian their final lead change of the game at 18-16. LCU held the Aggies to just 14 more points in the half, while opening up their lead to 41-30 at the break.
 
Holman streaked out to 11 points for the Chaparrals on 66% (4-of-6) shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line. As a squad, the Chaps posted a 53.3% (16-of-30) shooting percentage for the first period, their highest since beginning Heartland play. Although LCU held an 11-point lead at halftime, OPSU shot the ball effectively with a 50% (12-of-24) field goal mark. Regier single-handedly knocked down all four of Panhandle State's three-pointers to finish the period with 12 points.
 
A three-pointer by OPSU's Sesay cut the LCU lead to eight points just two minutes into the second half. It would turn out to be the closest the Aggies would get to the Chaps for the rest of the evening. Marcos Schuster knocked down a three-pointer to close out a 17-4 run with 11:04 left to play, giving Lubbock Christian a 63-42 lead. With 2:37 left in the game, Chuck Kendley threw down a dunk to give the Chaparrals their largest lead of the game at 26-points. Although OPSU scored the final 10 points of the contest, LCU's lead proved to be too lofty and the Chaps ultimately finished the night with an 86-70 win.
 
Lubbock Christian was sent to the charity stripe 16 times in the second half and converted on 15 of them for a 93.8% free throw percentage. Schuster continued LCU's stellar three-point play by knocking down 3-of-4 triples and finished with 13 points. The Chap squad shot an impressive 60% (6-of-10) from downtown in the second period. In total, Coach Duncan's men finished the game shooting 50.9% (28-of-55) from the floor and 87% (20-of-23) from the free throw line. Chuck Kendley, 12 points, Brennen Fowler, 12 points, and Jay Workman, 11 points, combined for 35 of Lubbock Christian's 40 bench points. LCU forced the Aggies into 16 turnovers while only committing eight of their own. Of OPSU's 16 turnovers, the Chaparrals converted 21 points. Holman, a senior, netted 12 of his 14 points from downtown while shooting an impressive 55.5% (5-of-9) from the field.
 
Panhandle State's Sita Sesay had a game-high 17 points on 50% (7-of-14) shooting. Sesay put in most of his work from three-point land as he racked up nine points from behind the arc. Jace Kerr added 15 points, while Jake Regier had 12 of his own.