ROGERS STATE UNIVERSITY (15-8, 6-5) 
at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (11-12, 7-5)
Saturday, February 10 – 3 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: RSU leads 16-7
Radio: Double T 97.3FM


 
ENCORE
Lubbock Christian University has the opportunity to go perfect on the week with a Saturday afternoon Heartland Conference tilt. The Chaps hosts Rogers State University in a 3 p.m. tip-off Saturday inside Rip Griffin Center. In the latest conference rankings, LCU resides in fourth place (7-5) behind a three-way tie for first between Dallas Baptist, Arkansas Fort Smith and Newman. Rogers State sits on LCU's heels with a 6-5 conference mark.

A LOOK AT THEIR LAST GAME
Lubbock Christian University head coach Todd Duncan continues to build his team's resume heading toward the postseason with a Thursday evening upset over No. 22 Dallas Baptist University. The Chaps were pushed to an 84-78 victory over DBU, inside Rip Griffin Center, on the shoulders of Marcos Schuster, who registered a career-high 29 points.
 
Lubbock Christian jumped to a hot start scurrying to an early 11-3 lead over the Patriots in the opening three minutes of play. DBU remained persistent and began chipping away at LCU's advantage before taking their first lead over the Chaps at 17-15 with 12:02 remaining in the half. Isaac Asrat wasted no time knocking down a three-pointer that returned the lead to LCU. Dallas Baptist came storming back to a seven-point advantage with just over four minutes left on the clock. Lubbock Christian fought back and closed out the half on a 14-4 scoring run to take a 42-39 lead at the halftime period.
 
The Chaparrals had a monster first half knocking down 15-of-32 (46.9%) from the field, 62.5% (5-for-8) from three-point range and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Schuster put up 14 points to lead LCU at the break while Brennen Fowler tabbed 11 points and four assists. Asrat continued to scramble Lubbock Christian's first half box score with seven of the Chaps 19 rebounds in the period.
 
Fowler tucked away a quick layup in the second period to help the Chaparrals score seven of the first nine points of the half. DBU remained close and even pulled within two points on a fast break layup with 12:30 to play. Lubbock Christian was able to create some distance after a pair of free throws from Jay Workman extended LCU's lead to 63-56. Two minutes later, Jordan Manse hit a triple for Dallas Baptist narrowing the Chaparrals lead to 69-67 with 7:09 remaining. Kentton Williams then converted a layup that sparked eight unanswered points for the Chaps. DBU attempted to mount one final comeback over the final three minutes, but Schuster netted three clutch free throws to close out the contest and give the Chaparrals an 84-78 victory.
 
Schuster upstaged his first half with 15 more points in the second period, seven of which came from the charity stripe. DBU nabbed a 55.2% field goal average to top the Chaps 46.2% clip in the second half. LCU's defense still managed to fluster the Patriots into eight turnovers.

Asrat accounted for four of Lubbock Christian's 11 steals while also securing 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double performance of his career with the Chaps. The LCU squad finished the contest with an 88% outing from the free throw line marking a season-high performance. Dallas Baptist (46.9%) managed to outshoot Lubbock Christian (46.6%) for the game, but Schuster's four treys and game-high 29 points proved to be the difference-maker.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
All of LCU's 84 points Thursday were poured in from their starting five, four of which scored in double-figures.
 
SHARP-SCHUSTER
Marcos Schuster is coming off of a career night against Dallas Baptist, scoring 29 points on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 8-of-15 shooting from the field. The senior also registered a 9-for-10 clip from the free throw line, helping the Chaps to an 88% free throw shooting performance.
 
HOME TURF
Lubbock Christian has posted an 8-3 record at home this season and a 5-1 mark inside Rip Griffin Center against conference opponents. On their home hardwood, the Chaparrals are defeating their foes by an average 9.9 points per game. Six of their eight victories have come by double-digit margins.
 
BLOCK PARTY
The paint has become an especially terrifying place for LCU opponents this season, as the Chaps have had no quandary swatting shots away. The Chaparrals have become the conference leading squad in blocks recorded per game (3.8).
 
RSU FACTS
- The Hillcats have been very efficient from distance this season recording a 40.1% mark from beyond the arc. Their average from three-point range leads the Heartland and ranks 25^th nationally in the category.
- Rogers State sits one game back from LCU with a 6-5 conference record to occupy fifth place in Heartland Conference standings.
- RSU stands at a stellar 10-2 record when playing at home, however, they have gone 3-5 on the road this season. Their last road win came earlier this year in a 91-88 victory over St. Edward's University (Jan. 13).
- Baron Smith Jr. leads the Hillcats averaging 15.9 points per contest. Smith Jr. also stands second in the Heartland with 107 made free throws on 131 attempts this season.
- The RSU squad currently ranks second in the conference averaging 12.8 turnovers per game.

RIVALRY AGAINST RSU
Lubbock Christian's rivalry against the Hillcats is still relatively young dating back to the first meeting in the 2007-2008 season. Since then, Rogers State has jumped out to a 16-7 edge over the Chaparrals. LCU has only managed to win two of the last eight matchups. Of the Chaps seven wins throughout the series, five have come at home inside Rip Griffin Center.

PRIOR MEETING WITH RSU
CLAREMORE, Oklahoma (January 10, 2018) – Wednesday night proved troublesome for Lubbock Christian University where the Chaps marked a season-low 55 points in a 70-55 road loss to Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla. Kentton Williams stood at the forefront of the Chaparral offense scoring 14 points on four field goals and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Brennen Fowler registered his second consecutive double-double performance, sixth of the season, with 12 points and 14 boards.
 
Lubbock Christian found an early rhythm and jumped to out to a quick 8-0 lead at the beginning the night. Rogers State responded by heating up from distance and nailing their first four field goals from behind the arc, narrowing the Chaparral lead to 13-12. Marcos Schuster immediately answered with his first points of the evening on a triple of his own that sparked eight unanswered points from LCU. The Chaps closed out the half shooting 4-of-10 from the field allowing the Hillcats to take a narrow 32-30 lead at the break.
 
After opening up the evening scoring on their first four field goal attempts, LCU closed out the first period with a 48% (12-of-25) average from the floor. Williams' eight points led all Chap scorers in the opening 20 minutes on 3-of-6 shooting and a pair of free throws. Although Lubbock Christian's defensive play held Rogers State to a 44.4% (12-of-27) shooting performance, the Hillcats were able to knock down five three-pointers while outrebounding the Chaps 17-12 at the half.
 
The second half is where things went off the rails for LCU as they missed their opening four field goal attempts allowing Rogers State to extend their lead to 38-32. Though Lubbock Christian had more luck getting to the free throw line in the final period, they were unable to pull any closer than four-points of the Hillcats throughout the remainder of the night. RSU closed out the contest with their final nine points coming from the charity stripe. Rogers State finished the night with a 13-2 scoring run capping a 70-55 victory over the Chaparrals.
 
LCU simply went cold in the second half logging a 28.6% (8-of-28) shooting mark. The Chaps finished the game shooting 20-of-53 (37.7%) from the field despite converting 12-for-14 (85.7%) from the free throw line. A majority of Lubbock Christian's points came from the key as Lubbock Christian outscored the Hillcats 30-6 from inside the paint. Schuster (10 points) joined Fowler and Williams as LCU's only players in double-scoring figures.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
LCU has not experienced much success when playing Rogers State on the road. Wednesday night's loss inside Rogers State's Expo Center drops the Chaparrals to 1-9 road record in the series against the Hillcats.