LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (8-10, 4-3) at NEWMAN UNIVERSITY (8-10, 4-3)
Thursday, January 25 - 7:30 PM
Fugate Gymnasium (Wichita, Kan.)
All-Time Series: Tied at 4-4





WE HAVE LIFTOFF
Lubbock Christian University will begin a four-game road trip Thursday evening in Wichita, Kan. against Newman University. The Chaps are on a hot two-game win streak in which they have defeated their prior two opponents by an average margin of 14.5 points. Heading into the game, LCU resides in a tie for fourth place with Newman, as both squads hold a 4-3 mark in Heartland Conference standings.

SATURDAY REWIND
LUBBOCK, Texas (January 20, 2018) – Lubbock Christian University tied a bow on their week with an 89-74 Heartland Conference victory over Oklahoma Christian Saturday afternoon inside Rip Griffin Center. Brennen Fowler led all scorers with 22 points and nine boards and sophomore Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath's 17 points off a 7-of-8 shooting performance helped the Chaparrals to a 54.7% field goal average over the Eagles.
 
LCU came out swinging on their way to an early 15-8 lead following a layup from Marcos Schuster at the 13:33 mark of the opening half. Oklahoma Christian quickly responded with an 11-0 scoring run that gave them a 19-15 lead. After the quick lull by the Chaparral offense, Lubbock Christian found their feet and strung together eight unanswered points to regain their advantage at 22-19. The Chaps were able to keep the OC squad contained for the remainder of the half, while outscoring the Eagles 13-8 over the final five minutes and taking a 43-36 lead at halftime.
 
Gilbreath came off the bench to lead the Chaparrals at the break with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. LCU forced Oklahoma Christian into nine turnovers in the period while committing a season-low two first-half turnovers of their own. Of their 43 points, 22 came from inside the paint, where the Chaps battered the Eagles 22-12. Lubbock Christian combined for a 47.2% (17-of-36) field goal average throughout the first period.
 
OC's Roderick Smith cut the LCU lead to three with back-to-back buckets to open up the second half. But that would be as close as the Oklahoma Christian offense would come, as Jay Workman put away any hope for the Eagles with a three-point missile at the 18:41 mark. Workman's dagger sparked a 16-4 scoring run for the Lubbock Christian offense. The Chaps pushed their advantage to 17-points on three occasions in the second half, the final of which came on a fast break layup from Workman to put LCU up 89-72 with 1:55 remaining. Oklahoma Christian would score twice more on a pair of free throws, but the Chaparrals were able to out-muscle the Eagles on their way to an 89-74 victory.
 
Fowler zoned in and tacked on 15 points, five rebounds and five blocks in the second half alone. The Smyer, Texas native also knocked down both of his three-point attempts in the period to help the Chap squad to a remarkable 64.3% second-half field goal percentage. Fowler's two three-pointers were a career high. Workman and Gilbreath each dealt four assists in the second period and five assists for the day to help the Lubbock Christian squad to a season-high 21 assists in the contest. Gilbreath also led the Chaparral's efforts from beyond the arc netting three of LCU's eight triples. Additionally, the Chaps ripped 10 steals to mark a season-high in the category.
 
The win over Oklahoma Christian sparks a two-game win streak for LCU. Workman (14 points), Schuster (12 points) and Isaac Asrat (11 points) joined Fowler and Gilbreath in double-figures. The Chap's 54.7% field goal average against the Eagles marks their eighth contest this season shooting above 50%.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Over their past four victories, the Lubbock Christian squad has downed their opponents by an average margin of 20.8 points. All four of those victories have come at Rip Griffin Center for the Chaps.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Chaps will take their play on the road for the seventh time this season, seeking to improve on a 1-5 road mark. Their lone win came at the ASU Classic over Thanksgiving, where the Chaparrals downed a previously unbeaten Angelo State team.

DEJA VU
Thursday's contest marks the second consecutive game in which the Chaps will take on a program that holds an overall and conference record that mirrors their own. LCU faced off against Oklahoma Christian this past Saturday  where both squads stood 7-10 overall and 3-3 in Heartland action. The Chaparrals ultimately went on to register a victory over the Eagles marking their fourth double-digit victory this season. 


OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
LCU has recorded a field goal percentage of 50% or higher in three of their last four competitions. When shooting with a team field goal average above 50%, the Chaps are 6-2 against opponents.  Of LCU's eight wins this season, six have come by 10 points or more. Throughout their each of their victories this year, the Chaps are outscoring their opponents by a 16-point margin.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Brennen Fowler has dominated teams on the glass this year, stacking up seven double-double performances. Fowler is averaging a conference leading 9.3 rebounds per contest, 6.78 of which have come on the defensive end of the court. Fowler is coming off of his second Heartland Conference Player of the Week accolade this season.

SURE SHOT
Isaac Asrat has consistently been a threat for the Chaps on the offensive side. Asrat leads the LCU squad and ranks second in the Heartland averaging 18.3 points per game and 3.06 made three-pointers per contest. His 47.8% shooting percentage from beyond the arc ranks him first in the Heartland and 11^th in the nationally.

NU FACTS
- Newman has played two conference games at home this season. Of those two games, they have managed to win by a combined 13 points.
- The Jets are coming off of a 12-point road loss at the hands of No. 17/25 Dallas Baptist.
- The Newman squad has allowed 81.4 points from opponents this season while scoring 77.1 points per contest.
- NU has captured a team free throw percentage of 76.2%. Their average from the stripe ranks second in the Heartland Conference and 33^rd nationally. Ben Ayre currently leads the Heartland, from the free throw line, with an 88.3% mark.
- Though he has only started in four of the Jets 18 contests this season, Dametrius Walker leads the Newman squad averaging 15.2 points per game.

RIVALRY AGAINST NU
The series between the squads dates back to the 2014 season, where Newman narrowly won the first meeting 76-74 in Wichita, Kan. (Jan. 23, 2014). Since then, the rivalry has become tied up at four wins apiece. LCU took the most recent meeting 80-76 inside Rip Griffin Center (Feb. 16, 2017) last season. Of the eight games played in the series, the road team has won on only one occasion. LCU overcame the Jets in their second overall meeting 76-69 in Wichita, Kan. (Jan. 8, 2015).

PRIOR MEETING WITH NU
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 16, 2017) – 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 home stand 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.