ST. EDWARD'S UNIVERSITY (17-13, 9-8 Heartland) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (17-10, 11-6 Heartland)
Saturday February 25, 2017 – 2:00 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU leads 13-7
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HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
Lubbock Christian University will face off with St. Edward's for the 21st time overall in their rivalry, with LCU owning a 13-7 advantage over the Hilltoppers. The Chaps have won four of the past five meetings against SEU. In their latest victory over the Hilltoppers, the Chaparral's posted a season-high 66.7% field goal mark to defeat St. Edward's 90-83 (Jan. 19) in Austin, Texas.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THEIR LAST GAME
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 23, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University cashed in a commanding 83-60 victory over Oklahoma Christian University Thursday evening inside Rip Griffin Center. Senior Ridrell Holman's game-high 25 points were the key to the Chap's 23-point victory, which also marked head coach Todd Duncan's 100th career-win. Marcus Arrington added to the already memorable night with five assists bumping himself up to fourth all-time in the Heartland Conference record books with 375 career-assists.
 
LCU came out hot by jumping to a quick 19-7 lead over the Eagles just six minutes into the contest. OC's Elijah Strickland answered with five consecutive points to bring the Lubbock Christian margin to 19-12. The Chaps proceeded to go on a 16-5 tear that was capped by a layup from Ja' Qualyn Gilbreath. Michael Grant split a pair of free throws at the 4:33 mark to allow the Chaparrals to double Oklahoma Christian's score at 40-20. The Eagles answered with a small 7-2 run, but senior Marcus Arrington converted on a last-second layup to give LCU a 44-27 lead heading into halftime.
 
Holman opened up the game with an 11-point tirade in the first half. Holman shot 66.7% (4-of-6) from the floor and 3-of-5 from downtown in the opening period of play. Brennen Fowler also shot 4-of-6 from the floor in the half, but recorded all eight of his points from inside the paint. As a team, the Chaps shot a remarkable 62.1% (18-of-29) from the field and 63.6% (7-for-11) from beyond the arc. LCU blasted Oklahoma Christian on the boards 18-8, while holding the Eagle's offense to 36.4% (8-of-22) shooting in the half.
 
The second half was kicked off by Holman scoring five of LCU's first nine points, to open the Chap lead up to 22-points at 53-31. John Moon cut the Lubbock Christian lead to 18 points, 62-44, by converting a layup with 9:12 remaining. Tyler Rogers extended the Chaparral lead to 23 points at 68-45 with 7:28 left in the contest with four consecutive points. Michael Grant knocked down one of two free throws to give the Chaps a 30-point lead, their largest of the evening with just over two minutes to play. Oklahoma Christian scored the game's final seven points.
 
Holman followed up his first-half performance with 14 second-half points on another 4-of-6 shooting. Although not quite as potent as their first half, the Chaparral offense combined for a 45.8% (11-of-24) shooting mark in the final period. Marcus Arrington and Holman each drained two three-pointers to push the Chaps to 62.5% (5-for-8) from downtown in the half. Holman also led Lubbock Christian from the charity stripe by knocking down a perfect 4-for-4 allowing the Chaparral's to grab an 85.7% (12-for-14) free-throw mark in the period.
 
Keilan Horton (12 points) and John Moon (10 points) were the only Oklahoma Christian players to record double- figures for the night. As a squad, OC was held to just 37.8% shooting on 17-of-45 attempts.
 
The Chaps closed out the contest shooting 54.7% (29-of-53) from the floor and 63.2% (12-for-19) from three-point range. Brennen Fowler grabbed 11 of LCU's 33 rebounds for the game. Holman's game-high 25 points marks his fourth game this year scoring over 20 points in a contest. Marcus Arrington was the only other Chap to record double figures in the scoring category. In addition to his 12 points, Arrington also dished out five assists on the offensive end.
 
SENIORITIS
Saturday's contest will serve as the final home game for the LCU's five seniors. Tyler Rogers, Marcus Arrington, Michael Grant, Isaac Cardona and Ridrell Holman have combined for 1,019 points this season. The seniors have collectively posted a 45.7% mark from the field over the course of the year.
 
FINAL HOME GAME
The game against St. Edward's will be Lubbock Christian's final regular season contest. The Chaps currently are 11-3 at home for the season and 7-1 at home in conference play inside for the 2016-17 campaign. Tyler Rogers leads the LCU offense shooting a 67.7% conference field goal mark inside Rip Griffin Center. Ridrell Holman has provided the range for the Chaps and shot 48.7% from downtown at home. As a team, LCU has shot 51% from the field in their 14 contests on their home floor.
 
HEARTLAND STANDINGS
As it stands, there are four teams tied for first place in Heartland standings. Lubbock Christian currently sits in fifth place with an 11-6 record in conference play. Saturday will be the final round of games across the Heartland Conference. With the Heartland Conference Tournament beginning on March 2, seeding will be determined following the results of Saturday's play.
 
RIDING THE WAVE
Lubbock Christian is heading into their matchup with St. Edward's with a streak of good play. The Chaps are on a three-game win streak that began with an 80-76 victory over Newman University (Feb. 16). Over the course of their past three contests, LCU has shot above 50% from the field and won by an average of 17.1 points.
 
In their last matchup with St. Edward's, the Chaparrals posted a season-high 12 three-pointers.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT SEU
- The Hilltoppers are ranked 15th in the nation with 710 free throws attempted. SEU is also ranked third in the country with 542 free throws made.
- St. Edward's has done a great job taking care of the ball and ranks fourth nationally by only committing 6 turnovers per game.
- With four teams tied for the first place position in Heartland standings, the SEU squad currently sits right behind the Chaps in sixth place.
- Ramir Burton leads the St. Edward's team averaging 16.6 points per contest. Of Burton's 497 points for the season, 167 have come from the free throw line.
- The Hilltoppers are 5-7 on the road this season. SEU's last win away from home came in a 90-85 victory over UA Fort Smith in Fort Smith, Arkansas on Jan. 14.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH SEU
AUSTIN, Texas (January 19, 2017) – It took a hot shooting performance on the road for Lubbock Christian University, as the Chaparrals were able to knock off Heartland Conference co-leaders St. Edward's University 90-83. The Thursday night tilt took place inside Recreation and Convocation Center and featured a 66.7% team shooting percentage from the Chaparrals. Ridrell Holman led all LCU scorers with 21 points, with teammate Tyler Rogers not far behind with 19 points.
 
The Chaps jumped out to an early 6-5 lead on a jumper from senior Isaac Cardona, but John Gramlich immediately answered back with a three-pointer to give the Hilltoppers their first lead of the evening. SEU then extended their lead to 17-12 over the Chaparrals before a layup by Brennen Fowler allowed LCU to begin chipping away at the St. Edward's lead. A pair of free throws by Tyler Rogers gave Lubbock Christian their second lead of the night at 20-19, however, a jump shot by Landon Goesling returned the St. Edward's lead to 26-24 with 7:06 left to play in the opening half. Cardona and Fowler combined for six of the Chaps last ten points to give LCU a 41-39 lead at the break.
 
Brennen Fowler had the hot-hand for the Chaps in the opening half by coming off the bench and knocking down 12 points on 75% (6-of-8) shooting. Rogers added 10 of his 19 points in the first period with a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. LCU shot 66.7% (16/24) from the floor while going 0-for-3 from downtown. The Chaps took 10 trips to the free throw line and converted on nine of them.
 
Sean Watkins and Ramir Burton combined for nine field goals and 24 of the Hilltoppers 39 first half points. Burton was a stellar 80% (4-of-5) from the floor while Watkins surged to an 83.3% (5-of-6) shooting percentage. Watkins knocked down 9 of his 14 points from three-point land. St. Edward's shot 15-for-30 from the field and forced the Chaps into 12 turnovers in the opening period.
 
Lubbock Christian remained in the drivers seat for a majority of the second half. At the 16:52 mark, Cardona showed his range by stepping behind the three-point line and knocking down his third triple of the season, opening up the Chap lead to 50-44. St. Edward's remained persistent and cut the LCU lead down to one point on three different occasions. Gramlich hit a jumper, with 11:37 left, to give SEU their first and only lead of the second period at 58-57. It was short lived, as Holman marched down the court and drilled a trey of his own to return the lead to the Chaparrals. From that point on, Lubbock Christian never lost their control or their cushion. Holman netted another triple with 2:02 left, giving LCU a 10-point lead, their largest of the evening. Marcos Schuster hit a trio of free throws that sealed the game and gave the Chaparrals a 90-83 victory over the Hilltoppers.
 
The Chaps showed consistency with a 66.7% (16-of-24) field goal percentage in the half to mirror their first half. But this time they were not blanked from the three-point line. Holman and Cardona combined for a 42.7% (3-of-7) three-point percentage. Holman was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and captured 16 points of his 21 points after halftime. Cardona's 12 second half points came from 71.4% (5-of-7) shooting. Marcos Schuster led the Chaparrals at the free throw line with a 75% (6-of-8) free throw mark. LCU posted an 82.3% (14-17) effort from the charity stripe in the second half and combined for an 85.2% (23-27) free throw performance for the game. LCU was 29-of-38 (76%) from the field inside the arc.
 
Watkins and Burton once again led the Hilltoppers in scoring for the second period with 11 points each. John Gramlich added 10 points to push St. Edward's to 42.9% (12-28) shooting from the field. Watkins, Burton and Gramlich, SEU's lone free throw shooters for the second half, were perfect from the stripe and gave the Hilltoppers a 14-for-14 free throw mark.