LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (7-3, 1-1 Heartland)
at CAMERON (2-6, 0-2 Lone Star)
Saturday, December 15 - 2 PM                                             
Aggie Gym (Lawton, Okla.)
Radio: None
All-Time Series: CU leads 10-4
 
BACK TO THE GRIND
Lubbock Christian University has had plenty of time to reflect on their prior game, which was a 68-65 win over No.7 West Texas A&M University. That win was played on Dec.6 and LCU has not played since. Head Coach Todd Duncan is hoping LCU has been spending the time looking ahead, as they head to Lawton, Okla. Saturday to complete a home-and-home series against Cameron and dialing in on their first win in Lawton since the 1994-95 season. The Chaps are amidst a string of four home games in a five-game stretch and this tilt serves as the lone road game in the stretch.      
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME
Lubbock Christian University set a Rip Griffin Center record with a 63.6% shooting mark from three-point range, as LCU's 7-of-11 outside shooting and Kobe Thompson's field goal with 2:14 left was enough to lead the Chaparrals to a 68-65 win over No.7 West Texas A&M Thursday night in a contest filled with 23 lead changes.

Fifteen (15) of the lead changes came in the second half of play. With the half starting out with a West Texas A&M 39-37 lead, WTAMU's Ryan Quaid followed a Rashaad Proctor layup with a three-pointer to place the Buffaloes lead at 42-39. It would be the Buffs largest lead of the half, as LCU countered with a 9-2 run for a 48-44 lead with 13:28 remaining. The Buffs ended the run with a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 50-48 less than 90 seconds later. Neither team had more than a two-point lead through a series of 12 lead changes carried out over a span of 8:47 (from the time WTAMU took a 50-48 lead). With the score tied 63-63, the game's 23rd lead change took place with Brennen Fowler placing a layup in with 2:54 left for a 65-63 advantage. Quaid responded on the ensuing possession, knotting the game up for a 12th time with a layup as 2:30 remained. Thompson ended a streak of five consecutive LCU field goals with a layup off an assist from Fowler to put LCU up 67-65 16 seconds later.

The two teams traded turnovers and each had a pair of free-throw misses in the final 36 seconds. Isaac Asrat's second free-throw attempt with 13 seconds left was the game's final point, and the only point tallied by either team in the final 2:13 of the game. Following Asrat's free-throw, Quaid missed a three-pointer with under five seconds remaining, but West Texas A&M was able to chase down the rebound and was credited with a timeout with 1.5 seconds left to work on an inbounds play. The inbound was worked into the corner to Gach Gach, who put up his 11th three-point attempt of the game, but the shot was in-and-out and the Chaps prevailed.

West Texas A&M put up 28 three-point attempts in the game, but shot the long range shot at 25% (7-of-28). Gach finished the game 1-of-10 from three-point range after nailing the opening shot attempt of the game from three-point range. Two of the first four field goals for WTAMU were from downtown to open the game.

LCU was 6-of-9 from three-point range in the first half and received a three-pointer from Brennen Fowler with 6:59 left in the first half to take a 27-21 lead for the largest lead of the game. WTAMU countered with a 9-0 run, which was part of a 17-3 scoring surge by the Buffs to take a 38-30 lead for their largest lead with 2:18 left in the half. The Chaps were able to close the half on a 7-1 run.

The Chaps, who had not had a three-point shooting performance of at least 30% in three prior home games, had a 63.6% (7-of-11) shooting night, which topped the prior Rip Griffin Center record of 61.1% (11-of-18) from Dec. 30, 2006 against Sul Ross. Overall, it was LCU's best shooting mark from outside since a 73.3% (11-of-15) performance on Nov. 15, 2017 at Texas-Permian Basin.

Quaid completed a double-double evening, adding 10 rebounds to a 16-point scoring affair. He helped the Buffs out-rebound LCU 36-22, which included 16 offensive rebounds. The mark helped the Buffs get 10 more shot attempts (22/58, 37.9%) than LCU (26/48, 54.2%). Quaid was one of three Buffs in double figures, as Gach led all scorers with 18 points and Joel Murray added 13 points. The Buffs fell to 10-2 on the season.

Asrat led LCU with 16 points off a 6-of-10 shooting night, which included a 2-of-2 effort from long range. Thompson finished with 10 points and Fowler had 12 points to go along with a team-leading seven boards and five assists. LCU had a 34-22 scoring advantage in the paint.

WHAT THE WIN OVER WT DID
The Chaps win over West Texas A&M improved them to 7-3 on the season. They are now 3-1 at home and are 2-1 against ranked opponents. The win was their first win over a top-10 ranked squad since a NCAA South Central Region Tournament win over No.7 Midwestern State on Mar. 12, 2016. It was their first win at home over a top-10 ranked squad since gaining NCAA Division II membership.
 
CAREER CALCULATOR
Lubbock Christian University forward Brennen Fowler, a two-time Heartland Conference Player of the Week, has some active numbers he is building each game in NCAA Division II play. The senior from Smyer, Texas has 1,189 career points, ranking fifth among NCAA Division II active career leaders in double-double (28). He also ranks seventh in blocks (141) and eighth in rebounds (731).
 
HIT THE ROAD
The Chaps are 1-1 in road play this season. Isaac Asrat leads the Chaps on the road with an average of 21.5 points per game. Brennen Fowler is not far behind with an average of 16.5 points per game on the road. Jay Workman (10 points per game) completes a trip of Chaps averaging double figures on the road. The Chaps have struggled with three-point shooting on the road. Opponents have a 24-6 advantage in three-pointers on the road, with LCU shooting just .222 (6/27) in road contests. On the flip side, LCU is shooting 59.1% on the road inside the perimeter.
 
BOARD TALK
Despite ranking fifth in the Heartland Conference in rebounds (353), LCU entered the weekend ranking 89^th nationally in the category. LCU had produced a higher rebound total than their opposition in seven straight games until defeating WTAMU. The Buffs out-rebounded LCU 36-22 and The -14 in rebound margin was LCU's worst since a -15 against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Feb. 11, 2017 (37-22).  The last time LCU claimed a win with such a disadvantage in rebounding was on Jan. 12, 2012, as LCU won despite a -20 (45-25) against Oklahoma City University. Include the game with the seven straight games LCU outrebounded the opposition, and they still have a 6.4 rebound margin in their last eight games. Fowler enters Saturday ranking 40^th nationally in rebounds with 83.
 
STRONG FINISHES
LCU's contests have been low scoring in the first half of play. LCU is averaging 33.5 points in the first half compared to 40.3 in the second half. Their opponents are averaging 30.4 points in the first half and 37.4 points in the second half. Overall, LCU is holding their opponents to an average of 67.8 points per game (LCU averaged 72.5 points per game last season), ranking 49^th nationally in NCAA Div. II.
 
LEADER OF LEADERS
How important is Brennen Fowler to the Chaps? Not too many teams have a player that leads their team in points (16.8 per game), rebounding (8.3), blocks (10) and total assists (26), as Fowler is doing.
 
GAME OF PERCENTAGES
The Chaparrals are leading the Heartland Conference with a team field goal shooting mark of 48.2%. On the defensive side, they are holding opponents to a 40.6% shooting mark from the field, which ranks 39^th nationally.   
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT CU
- Cameron is 2-6 on the season, and they have gone 1-4 since their previous meeting. The Aggies are 2-3 against Heartland Conference programs this season. They are going a two-week stretch without a game, as their last game was a 86-72 road loss at Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 1.
- The Aggies went 11-17 last season, with a 7-11 mark in Lone Star Conference play. Their season came to a close with a first round loss in the LSC Tournament to Tarleton State.
- Cameron is preseason picked eighth in the LSC Preseason Poll. They are off to an 0-2 start in LSC play.
- The Aggies earn their way to the free-throw line, ranking 10^th nationally in free-throws attempted (242) and 11^th in free-throws made (178). They average a 22.3 – 17.3 scoring advantage per game from the line. Zachary Dumas has made 54 free-throws this season, ranking 22^nd nationally.
- Dumas is averaging 19.9 points per game, which leads the Lone Star Conference and has him ranked 65^th nationally.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST CU
The Aggies hold a 10-4 all-time series advantage against LCU. Though Lubbock Christian and Cameron University have met three times over the prior two seasons, but prior to the stretch, 11 meetings were played before a 21-year stretch in which the two programs never met. The squads first met in the 1972-1973 season, where Cameron pulled off a 78-61 victory. That opening success for the Aggies sparked a nine-game winning streak in the series. LCU's first two victories in the series came back-to-back in the 1994-95 season, where they swung a 68-65 (1/23/95) victory and an offensively charged 101-94 (2/21/95) result less than a month later. Following Lubbock Christian's triple-digit performance, the series went on a 21-year drought before being brought back to life in the 2016-17 campaign. Todd Duncan took his Chap squad up to Lawton, Okla. in the that season, only to lose 79-76 on a last second half-court heave by Cameron's Tyler Williams (12/10/16). LCU has won the prior two meetings, winning 81-78 on Dec. 16, 2017 and 75-67 on Nov.17. Each of those meetings were in Lubbock.
 
PRIOR MEETING WITH CU
LUBBOCK, Texas (Nov. 17, 2018) – CU 67 – LCU 75
Brennen Fowler produced his third consecutive double-double performance, and his 14 points and 12 rebounds helped Lubbock Christian University claim a 75-67 win over Cameron in their Rip Griffin Center home opener.
 
There were six lead changes in the opening half, but Cameron was unable to take more than a two-point lead. Sparked by an 11-point first half performance from Rashaan Proctor, LCU used a 6-0 run to overcome a 21-19 deficit and take a 25-21 lead. LCU never trailed after the transition and took a 34-28 lead into the half, stamped by a Jay Workman jumper as time expired.
 
Cameron led the game in paint scoring 34-30, but LCU had a 16-8 scoring advantage in the category in the opening half. The Chaps were 13-of-19 (68.4%) inside the arc during the half.
 
The Aggies were kept off the scoreboard for the opening 3:41 of the second half, capping a span of 3:53 from the first half.  LCU went on a 13-0 run during the Cameron dry spell and built a 45-30 lead. Kentton Williams converted at the free-throw line with 12:29 remaining to put LCU up 56-37 for their largest lead of the game. The Aggies made things interesting by responding on an 11-0 run spanning 5:48 to cut LCU's lead to 56-48 as 6:52 remained. Proctor nailed a jump shot to end the sequence and LCU never allowed Cameron within less than eight points the rest of the game.
 
Cameron (1-2) outscored LCU 26-14 in the paint in the second half, shooting 14-of-26 (53.8%) inside the arc. The Aggies ended up with four players in double figures in points. Zachary Dumas led CU with 16 points, as Tyus Momoh (14 points), Kendall Scott (12 points) and Andrew Mguyen (12 points) also finished in double figures.
 
Fowler was 7-of-9 from the field and led LCU in scoring and rebounds. Proctor finished with 13 points, while teammates Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath (12 points) and Isaac Asrat (11 points) joined Fowler with offensive support.
 
LCU had a 16-7 scoring advantage in second-chance scoring, benefiting off a 44-3 rebound advantage, which included 14 offensive boards (four by Gilbreath). LCU was plagued by turnovers, but they were outscored 15-13 in points-off-turnovers despite an 18-11 disadvantage in turnovers.