LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (14-8, 8-4 Heartland) at ROGERS STATE UNIVERSITY (16-7, 9-4 Heartland)
Thursday February 9, 2017 – 7:30 PM
Claremore Expo Center (Claremore, Okla.)
Radio: KJTV AM950/100.7FM
All-Time Series: Rogers State leads series 14-6
Tweet #LCUvsRSU | Tweet #HeartlandMBB
 
HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
Lubbock Christian has squared off with Rogers State University a total of 20 times. The squads first met in the 2007-08 season, when both teams were still NAIA members. Since then, the Hillcats have taken a 14-6 series advantage over the Chaps. In their most recent meeting, RSU won the matchup 58-49 (Jan. 5) snapping a 17-game Lubbock Christian Heartland Conference home winning streak.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THEIR LAST GAME
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 4, 2017) – Tyler Rogers and Ridrell Holman combined for 34 points (17 points each) to lead Lubbock Christian University through 14 lead changes and to a 75-68 victory over St. Mary's University Saturday afternoon inside Rip Griffin Center for a second straight Heartland Conference win.
 
Lubbock Christian raced out to an 8-6 lead over the Rattlers on a layup by Brennen Fowler just six-minutes into the contest. The Chaps traded the lead with St. Mary's four times before a jumper by Ed Seay put the Rattlers up 19-18 with 9:35 left in the half. StMU then went on a 15-6 run to take an 11-point lead, their largest of the game, with just over two minutes to play in the opening period. The Chaps scored seven unanswered points to cut St. Mary's lead to six-points, 36-30, at halftime.
 
LCU shot 46.2% (12-of-26) from the field and a disappointing 0-for-7 from behind the three-point line in the first half. Holman, who has been nothing short of spectacular from downtown as of late, was ice cold in the first half. Holman shot 20% (1-of-5) from the field and 0-for-4 from long-range. Brennen Fowler led the Chap attack in the half with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
The Rattlers almost mirrored the Lubbock Christian's shot attempts in the period with 48% (12-of-25) from the floor. However, unlike the Chaparrals, they were able to score from long-range. St Mary's converted seven three-pointers on 11 attempts for a 63.6% average from beyond the arc. Will Ferguson led the Rattlers with 11 points at the break.
 
Yanni Wetzell split a pair of free throws to open up the second half giving the Rattlers a 37-30 lead. The Chaps then scored eight straight points to grab their first lead of the final period. St. Mary's would not go down quietly, and regained their lead at 45-41 with 13:44 left to play. Following a three-pointer by Tyler Rogers, Jay Workman converted a layup to put the Chaparrals up 46-45 for their final lead change of the afternoon. LCU continued building their advantage and went up 58-51 on a zany three-pointer by Chuck Kendley that looked to be a well-placed lob pass. Although StMU's Robbie Benavides scored the final bucket of the game, the Chaps were able to finish out the contest and take a 75-68 victory over the Rattlers.
 
Lubbock Christian found their rhythm and grabbed a 69.6% (16-of-23) shooting mark in the second period. Eight of LCU's second half jumpers came from behind the arc for a 61.5% (8-of-13) three-point average. Holman led the Chaps in the second period with 15 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from downtown. The Chaps ripped four steals from the Rattlers and converted 20 of their 45 second half points off of turnovers alone.
 
Will Ferguson had a game-high 21 points for St. Mary's in addition to four assists. Although the Rattlers started out the game with a hot-hand from three-point range, they closed the contest with a 47.4% (9-of-19) average from downtown. Seven of their nine triples came in the first half.
 
In total, Lubbock Christian finished the afternoon shooting 57.1% from the floor and 70% (14-for-20) from the charity stripe. Senior Marcus Arrington dished out six of LCU's 14 assists. Isaac Cardona led the Chaps effort on the boards with six rebounds. Holman (17 points), Rogers (17 points) and Fowler (15 points) gave the Chaps three players in double figures in scoring.
 
HOLMAN
Ridrell Holman has been a catalyst for the Lubbock Christian offense this season. Holman is coming off of his first Heartland Conference Player of the Week of the season. Since beginning Heartland play, Holman has averaged 14.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He is also a stellar 44.1% from three-point range as well as 44.6% from the field for the year. Holman has broken his career-high points scored in a game on two different occasions this season. His 29-point game against Texas A&M International marks an LCU high for the Chap squad this year.
 
FINAL ROAD TRIP
Lubbock Christian is hitting the road for the final time in their regular season schedule. So far, the Chaparrals are 4-3 on the road in Heartland play and 6-5 away from home for the season. LCU is averaging a 1.9 scoring margin over opponents on the road this year. Lubbock Christian has not won at Rogers State since the 2012-13 season.
 
CHARGED UP
Although the Chaparrals are only coming off of five days of rest, the break was incredibly welcomed. Beginning with their 79-72 win over Dallas Baptist (Jan. 28) and ending with their 75-68 victory over St. Mary's (Feb. 4) the Chaps played a total of four games in a seven-day period.
 
Although the four-game stretch forced the Chaps to log an impressive amount of minutes, 800 to be exact, it allowed the team to build up some steam. Over the past four games, LCU has averaged 78.2 points per game and while shooting 40% from behind the three-point line. In those four games, Lubbock Christian was also able to grab their highest scoring performance of the season in an 84-55 victory over Texas A&M International (Feb. 2). The Chaps have won six of their last seven contests.
 
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Since LCU's last meeting with the Hillcats, the Chap offense has been highly explosive. The Chaparrals have averaged 80.6 points per game, over the past seven games, and have posted a 52.1% clip from the field. The Lubbock Christian squad has also posted an 81.7% mark from the charity stripe since they last faced off against Rogers State.
 
MILESTONES
- Lubbock Christian head coach Todd Duncan is just three wins shy of 100 career victories. Duncan is in his sixth season with the Chaparrals and has had tremendous success since taking the helm.
- LCU ranks first in the Heartland and 19^th in the nation with a 77% free throw average for the season.
- Sophomore Brennen Fowler leads the conference with 178 total rebounds. Fowler is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game this season.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT RSU
- The Hillcats held Lubbock Christian to 49 points in their previous meeting, which is a season low for the Chaps.
- RSU is ranked first in the Heartland, 25^th nationally, for their scoring defense holding their opponents to 67.4 points per game.
- JD Tisdale co-leads the conference with 121 free throws made this season. Tisdale also ranks 11^th in the nation for free throws attempted (170).
- Rogers State have won their past four consecutive contests in addition to seven of their last eight. In their most recent victory, RSU posted an 86-41 statement victory over OPSU. The 45-point victory marks a season high for the Rogers State program.
- Jeylyn Sharpe leads the Hillcat offense averaging 15.2 points per game this season. Out of their 23 games, Sharpe has been the leading scorer in seven contests.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH RSU
LUBBOCK, Texas (January 7, 2017) - Lubbock Christian University suffered a 58-49 loss to Rogers State University in a game that featured LCU's lowest scoring contest since Dec. 17, 2015. Tyler Rogers (11 points) and Marcos Schuster (10 points) led LCU in the loss, which snapped a 17-game Heartland Conference home winning streak for the Chaps, which began after a 72-61 loss to Rogers State on Jan. 15, 2015.
 
Things did not start well for the Chaparrals, as Rogers State opened up the game on an 11-5 run. The Chaps finally woke up and took their first lead of the game at 12-11 on a three-pointer by Tyler Rogers with 11:36 left in the half. LCU tried to distance themselves from the Hillcats, but RSU held tight on defense and took a 17-15 advantage at the 4:50 mark of the first period. Arrington regained the lead for Lubbock Christian on a pair of free throws, but it was short lived as RSU jumped back ahead 28-22 at the break.
 
Lubbock Christian's bench came to play by scoring 15 of the Chaps 22 first half points. Chuck Kendley led LCU in the period with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting and a trio of free throws. The Hillcats waxed the Chaparrals on the boards by a margin of 20-11 in addition to their 28 first half points. LCU never really found a rhythm in the first period as they were held to 7-of-24 (29.2%) shooting from the floor and 2-9 (22.2%) from beyond the arc. Although the Chaps forced seven turnovers by the Hillcats, they committed seven of their own and allowed seven points off of their turnovers.
 
The second half remained tight, as there were four more lead changes in the second half. The Chaps showed some promise after returning from halftime, cutting Rogers State's lead down to one at 34-33 with 16:22 to play. Baron Smith countered by extending the Hillcats lead back to six, 39-33, after splitting a pair of free throws. LCU remained consistent and took another lead at 40-39 with two free throws from Michael Grant, but again, RSU answered with a three-pointer to tie things back up. The Chaps held on tight, but the Hillcats took their final lead of the game on a layup by Christopher Ikuenobe to put the score at 49-47 with 5:31 remaining. Rogers State scored 11 of the games final 15 points to seal their victory at 58-49.
 
Lubbock Christian had a more successful second half and limited Rogers State's scoring to five different players. Marcos Schuster scored eight of his 10 points to lead the Chaparral offense in the second period, but RSU continued to shoot effectively and ultimately just outlasted LCU. Ridrell Holman and Tyler Rogers had the Chaps lone three-pointers in the half, as LCU struggled with a 2-of-10 shooting mark from downtown.
 
RSU found their groove early on in the game and remained consistent for its entirety. Three different Hillcats recorded double-scoring figures. Baron Smith Jr. had a game-high 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Nine of Smith's 21 points came from three-point land and six came from the charity stripe. Rogers State's starting five scored 56 of their 58 points. As a squad, the Hillcats finished the game shooting 40.4% (19/47) from the field and 77.8% (14/18) from the free throw line.