LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (18-10, 12-6) vs. ROGERS STATE UNIVERSITY (19-9, 12-6 Heartland)
Friday March 3, 2017 – 7:30 PM
John Q. Hammons Court - UMAC (Tulsa, Okla.)
Radio: AM950/100.7FM
All-Time Series: RSU leads 15-6
Tweet #LCUvsRSU | Tweet #HeartlandMBB
 
HISTORY BETWEEN THE SQUADS
Lubbock Christian University will square off with Rogers State University for the third and final time this season Friday evening. All-time, the Hillcats own a 15-6 series edge and have won three of the past five meetings over the Chaparrals since LCU joined the Heartland Conference. In the most recent showdown between the squads, the Hillcats were able to hold off a late Lubbock Christian rally and defeat the Chaps 64-60 (Feb. 9) in Claremore, Okla.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THEIR LAST GAME
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 25, 2017) – Lubbock Christian University, setting a program and Heartland Conference record from the free-throw line, tied a bow on their regular season finale with a 91-80 win over St. Edward's University Saturday afternoon inside Rip Griffin Center. Marcos Schuster led LCU with a game-high 19 points on 58.3% shooting (7-of-12) and five three-pointers. The victory also served as Senior Day for Lubbock Christian where the Chaps honored five seniors.
 
St. Edward's struck first and jumped out to a 7-3 lead early in the contest. LCU marched back on the shoulders of Isaac Cardona and Marcus Arrington who combined for the Chap's first 15 points of the afternoon to put Lubbock Christian up 15-7 with at the 12:56 mark. SEU's Ramir Burton drained a couple of free throws to close LCU's lead to 13 points. However, Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath knocked down a three-pointer to spark a 9-3 run for the Chaparrals. Sean Watkins nailed a triple with 39-seconds left in the period narrowing the Chap lead. But Schuster stepped up and drilled a last-second triple of his own to give LCU a 47-31 lead heading into the locker room.
 
The Chaps were on fire in the first half shooting 60% (18-of-30) from the field and 7-for-10 from downtown. Marcus Arrington was perfect from beyond the arc netting four treys for 12 points, four rebounds and four assists in the half. Schuster shot 66.7% (4-of-6) for 10 points in 13 minutes played. Tyler Rogers, Ridrell Holman and Brennen Fowler each grabbed five rebounds to push the Chaparrals to a 22-15 advantage over the Hilltoppers on the boards. LCU went on a 21-0 run in the period, which was part of an overall 26-4 scoring surge for LCU, as SEU went 7:49 without a field goal.
 
The Hilltoppers were held to 26.5% (9-of-34) from the field in the opening period. Fifteen of their 34 points, in the half, were scored from behind the arc. Sean Watkins led SEU with nine points on 2-of-4 shooting and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
LCU opened up the second half on an 11-4 run capped by a three-pointer from Marcos Schuster. He kept his hand warm and nailed another triple at the 15:44 mark, giving the Chaps a 24-point lead at 63-39, for their largest lead of the game. St. Edward's cut the LCU lead down to 65-49, but another three-point dagger from Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath extended Lubbock Christian's lead back to 20-points at 77-57 with just over seven-minutes remaining. The Hilltoppers connected on four straight three-point jumpers and eventually scored 13 unanswered points to cut the LCU lead to 79-70. The Chaps scored their final 12 points of the contest from the free throw line to grab the 91-80 victory over St. Edward's.
 
Brennen Fowler was LCU's second half hero scoring 10 points. The Chaparrals continued their attack from long-range and netted 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line for a 66.7% mark in the second half. Only three of Lubbock Christian's second-half field goals were converted from inside the arc.
 
The Chaps set a program-high 100% mark from the free throw line scoring on all 24 of their attempts from the stripe. The 24-for-24 from the line set a Heartland Conference single-game record and it's the second best mark in NCAA Division II play this season behind Florida Tech, who was 28-of-28 from the line in a contest this season. LCU's bench came up huge with 52 of the Chaps 91 points for the game. Lubbock Christian finished the afternoon shooting 54% (27-of-50) from the field and 68.4% (13-for-19) from downtown. There were five Chaps in double-scoring figures. Schuster led the way with 19 points. Arrington and Fowler each posted 16 points, Gilbreath accounted for 15 points and Rogers put up 13 points of his own.
 
HEARTLAND POSTSEASON
After much anticipation and speculation as to how the regular season would end for the conference, Lubbock Christian finished the regular season with a 12-6 Heartland record, leaving the Chaparrals tied for fourth place overall. Friday will mark LCU's second appearance in Heartland Conference postseason contention as well as their second year of eligibility for the tournament. After last year's first round loss, Lubbock Christian is 0-1 in Heartland Conference Tournament play all-time.
 
The Chaps are heading into Friday night's matchup with No.4-seed Rogers State as the tournament's No.5-seed. LCU is also riding a four-game win streak which have all come inside Rip Griffin Center.
 
THIRD TIME
Lubbock Christian heads into Friday night with a 0-2 record against the Hillcats this season. Although the Chaps have averaged 77.6 points per game for the year, RSU is responsible for two of LCU's three lowest scoring performances for the year. Rogers State's defense has held the Chaps to just 54.5 points per contest in their two meetings this season.
 
HITTING THE FIELD
The Chaparrals have averaged a 38.2% mark from the field against Rogers State so far this season. In their final four games of the regular season, the Chaps rung up a field goal average over 50% in each of the games. For the season, LCU has shot 48% from the field and 38.7% from three-point range.
 
Brennen Fowler has consistently led the Chaparral offense averaging 13.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Since an 80-76 victory over Newman (Feb. 9), Fowler has converted 26 buckets for a 61% field goal average.
 
SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL
LCU has gone 1-1 in neutral site games this season, both of which took place in Puerto Rico (the Chaparrals have posted a 3-4 record in neutral site games since joining the Heartland Conference). Each of their games in Puerto Rico was decided by two points or less. Their 76-75 win over Northwood (Nov. 25, 2016) featured the only overtime contest thus far on the season.
 
ON THE LINE
The Chaparrals are coming off of a perfect outing at the free throw line against St. Edward's University. In a 91-80 victory over the Hilltoppers, LCU shot a perfect 24-for-24 from the charity stripe. So far this season, Tyler Rogers has netted a team-leading 88 shots from the stripe for an 83% free throw average.
 
CONFERENCE HONORS
LCU had four Chaparrals claim All-Conference honors for the season. Marcus Arrington, Ridrell Holman and Brennen Fowler were named All-Heartland Honorable Mention. Arrington has dished out 109 assists for the season and is listed as the Heartland Conference's fourth All-time assists leader with 381 career assists.
 
Holman netted 64 three-pointers for the season and averaged 12.3 points per game. The Amarillo native posted a 45.6% field goal average and a 44.4% average from long-range.
 
Fowler leads the LCU squad averaging 13.3 points on 56.4% shooting from the field. The sophomore ranks second in the Heartland with 222 total rebounds for the season and third in the conference.
 
Tyler Rogers was named Second Team All-Heartland Conference for the first time in his LCU career. Rogers has averaged 11.5 points per game as well as a 55.6% average from the field this season. The senior has played in all 28 contests for Lubbock Christian and has averaged 22.3 minutes per game. Rogers leads the LCU squad in free throws made by knocking down 88 of his 106 attempts for the season.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT RSU
- RSU senior forward Jeylyn Sharpe was named First Team All-Heartland Conference as well as Player of the Year Wednesday evening. Senior JD Tisdale grabbed Newcomer of the Year in addition to Second Team All-Heartland. Junior Baron Smith claimed All-Conference Honorable Mention.
- The Hillcat defense has held opponents to a 42.6% field goal average for the season. RSU leads the Heartland Conference in field goal defense.
- Sharpe leads the Rogers State squad, as well as the conference, with 2.81 offensive rebounds per game. In total, Sharpe has grabbed 202 total rebounds this season for 7.5 boards per game.
- Tisdale ranks second in the conference and eighth nationally with 214 free throw attempts for the year.
- After accumulating a seven-game win streak from Jan. 26 to Feb. 16, Rogers State has dropped their past two contests to St. Edward's and UA Fort Smith, respectively.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH RSU
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.