NEWMAN UNIVERSITY (13-11, 9-4) at LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY (12-12, 8-5)
Thursday, February 15 – 8 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU leads 5-4
TV: Fox 34 News Now
Radio: 100.7FM The Score



SENIOR SENDOFF
Thursday night's Heartland Conference contest will serve as a send-off of sorts for Lubbock Christian University, as the Chaps are hosting Newman University in their final home game of the season. With it being their final home game of the season, LCU will also be recognizing Marcos Schuster's four-year career for "Senior Night". Schuster, the lone senior on the Lubbock Christian squad, will have the opportunity to lead the Chaparrals on one final push up the conference standings, as the end of the regular season nears.

A LOOK AT THEIR LAST GAME
LUBBOCK, Texas (February 10, 2018) – Payback was the name of the game for Lubbock Christian University, aiming to even the regular season series, as the Chaparrals cruised to an 81-70 Heartland Conference win Saturday afternoon over Rogers State University inside Rip Griffin Center. Brennen Fowler led four Chaparral players in double-scoring figures with 18 points and eight rebounds.
 
After Rogers State opened up the match with four straight points, senior Marcos Schuster took matters into his own hands knocking down three consecutive triples. Schuster's hot-hand pushed the Chaps to 13 unanswered points. It was not until the eighth minute that the Hillcats were able to break into double-digits, but by that point Lubbock Christian had doubled the Hillcats score to take a 20-10 lead. Four minutes later, Fowler threw down a dunk capping a 12-4 scoring run for the Chaparrals and extending their lead to 18 points. Rogers State was able to knock the LCU lead down to 12 with 2:23 left in the half, but the Chaps were able to find their footing and take a 45-31 advantage at the break.
 
Schuster's 11 points and three treys pushed the Chaps to a 50% (7-for-14) three-point shooting average for the half. Three LCU players were perfect from the field to lead the Lubbock Christian squad to an astonishing 64% (16-for-25) field goal mark. The Chaparral defense swarmed the Hillcats forcing them into a 38.7% average from the field and just one three-pointer throughout the entire first period. LCU also dismantled Rogers State on the glass with a 19-10 rebounding advantage.
 
The Hillcats hit back-to-back buckets to open up the second period and cut the Lubbock Christian lead to a nine-point margin. Isaac Asrat put RSU's momentum to rest after marching down the floor and knocking down a triple to put the Chaps back up 48-36. LCU then put up a four-minute stretch in which eight of their 12 points came from the free throw line. With 4:46 remaining, Fowler slipped a pocket pass to Asrat who missed on a layup. Fortunately, Fowler followed up on the rebound for a put-back dunk that gave the Chaparrals a 74-58 lead. From that point on, Lubbock Christian scored their final seven points from the free throw line to seal the game with an 81-70 victory.
 
LCU cooled down to a 36% (9-of-25) second-half shooting mark but were able to compensate with an 88.2% (15-of-17) outing from the free throw line. Fowler netted seven field goals for the day to lead the Chaps to a 50% (25-for-50) shooting average. Asrat lead the charge from beyond the arc drilling five of Lubbock Christian's 10 three-pointers for the contest.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
After a season-high 88% team free throw average Thursday night against Dallas Baptist, the Chaps topped the mark Saturday afternoon over the Hillcats of Rogers State. Kentton Williams, who was 5-of-6 from the field, nabbed a perfect 7-for-7 mark from the stripe to lead LCU to a 91.3% (21-of-23) clip against Rogers State.
 
STANDING TALL
The Chaps have created a two-game win streak, which began with an 84-78 victory over then-No. 22 ranked Dallas Baptist (Feb. 8). With their latest victories, Lubbock Christian sits at a .500 average with a 12-12 overall record and an 8-5 mark in Heartland matches. Dallas Baptist sits in second place with four losses but has only played 12 conference contests. Newman and Arkansas Fort Smith occupy the first-place spot each holding a 9-4 record in Heartland Conference games.

SINCE THEN
Since Lubbock Christian's first meeting against the Jets earlier this season (Jan. 25), the Chaps have gone 3-2 over the five-game stretch. Schuster has led the way in those contests averaging 15.4 points per game and converting 25-of-30 free throws for an 83.3% clip. Also, in that five-game period, LCU has outscored their opposition by a three-point margin while averaging 45.7% from the field 34 rebounds per match. 
 
HOME TURF
Though the Chaparrals are on a two-game success streak, they are riding a string of six consecutive home victories that began at the turn of the year with a 66-43 win over Texas A&M International (Jan. 4).

INSIDE THE ARC
LCU has been nothing short of impressive on the attack from inside the arc. For the year, the Chaparrals are shooting 51.6% from inside three-point range. More specifically, the Chaps have wreaked havoc inside the lane with 45% of their points this season coming from within the paint. Fowler has been a looming presence in the key leading the Lubbock Christian roster with 137 two-point field goals.
 
DIGGING IN
Lubbock Christian's field goal defense has become a focal point throughout the season. The Chaps are listed third in the Heartland for field goal defense and have held their opposition to 42% shooting so far. Fowler has accounted for 49 of LCU's 90 blocks this season to lead the conference and rank 24^th nationally in the total blocks category. On the defensive glass, Lubbock Christian has registered 26.8 rebounds per contest.
 
NU FACTS
- Lubbock Christian's victory over the Jets in Wichita, Kan. marks the most recent loss that Newman has suffered. Since then, NU has put together a string of five victories.
- Dametrius Walker has come off of the bench in 20 of the Jets 24 contests to lead Newman with 15.2 points per game.
- Newman's diligence at the free throw line has paid off in substantial fashion as the Jets are leading the Heartland with a 75.9% team average from the stripe. NU is converting 17.6 free throws each game, a feat that ranks 26^th in the nation, but third in the conference.
- Ben Ayre is a staggering 90.2% free throw shooter that ranks second on the Newman roster with 13.9 points per game.
- With a 13-11 overall record, the Jets enter Thursday night's head-to-head against the Chaparrals with a 3-5 mark in road contests.

RIVALRY AGAINST NU
With their latest victory over Newman in Wichita, Kan., LCU has taken a slight edge in the rivalry. The Chaps own five victories out of the nine total meetings in the series. Three of Lubbock Christian's five wins have come inside Rip Griffin Center which bodes well for the Chaparrals who are looking to extend their success over the Jets. Throughout the nine meetings between the squads, the games have been decided by an average margin of six points.

PRIOR MEETING WITH NU
WICHITA, Kansas (January 25, 2018) – Thursday night extended the win-streak to three games as Lubbock Christian University notched an 83-73 victory on the road against Newman University. Five Chaps scored in double-figures, but Isaac Asrat led the way with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. Marcos Schuster finished with 15 points, 12 of which came from the free throw line.
 
Lubbock Christian opened up the night with a 13-7 lead in the opening six minutes of play. Dametrius Walker kept the Jets close cutting the LCU lead to a three-point margin following a three-pointer at the 11:51 mark. The Chaparrals responded with a 9-2 scoring run over the next 2:45 that was capped on a Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath triple. The offensive burst gave Lubbock Christian their largest lead of the half at 24-14. Newman remained persistent and continued to chip away at the Chap's lead until a layup from Tim Troussel tied the ballgame up at 34-34 with 2:24 left in the half. Asrat converted on a layup of his own helping LCU score five unanswered points to conclude the opening period with a 42-37 lead.
 
Asrat's 14 first-half points pushed the Lubbock Christian squad to a 51.5% (17-of-33) shooting mark. The Chap's also knocked down half of their three-pointers tallying four buckets from beyond the arc in the period. Lubbock Christian's defense out-muscled Newman holding the Jets to a 26.7% (4-of-15) mark from three-point range and 13 jumpers for a 43.3% field goal average. LCU also outrebounded Newman 21-13 in the half allowing the Chaparrals to outscore the Jets 11-3 in points off of turnovers.
 
NU's Kevin Bryant struck first with a layup at the beginning of the second period. Unfortunately for the Jets, that would be as close as they would come for the remainder of the game. Kentton Williams drained a pair of free throws that pushed the Chaps on to seven unanswered points over a one-minute span, returning the LCU lead to 10-points at 49-39. Despite a two-minute lull where neither team was able to convert a bucket, the Chaps righted the ship with another three-point missile from Gilbreath to regain    an 11-point advantage, their largest of the game with 13:22 remaining. Andre Sands pulled the Jets within five, but Lubbock Christian once again came back with six straight points to take back a 67-56 lead. The Chaparrals closed out the night with a free throw clinic scoring their final 18 points from the stripe. Over the last 6:37 of play, Lubbock Christian registered an 18-for-20 clip from the free throw line to seal an 83-73 victory over the Jets.
 
After opening up with five points in the first half, Schuster drilled all 10 of his free throws in the final 20 minutes to finish the night with 15 points and assist the Chaps to a season-high 23 made free throw baskets. Gilbreath (16 points), Fowler (13 points) and Williams (10 points) also registered double-scoring figures for the evening. Fowler was one board shy of another double-double performance. Asrat and Gilbreath were not far behind picking up eight rebounds each. In total, the Chaparrals tallied a 49% (25-of-51) outing from the field and a 78.8% (26-of-33) average from the charity stripe. LCU outperformed the Jets on the glass with a 41-31 rebounding advantage.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Marcos Schuster finished a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line against the Jets. The senior's outing at the charity stripe is the best performance since a single-game individual record was set by Kenny Hewitt's. Hewitt registered a 14-for-14 free throw shooting performance against Mid-America Nazarene University (2/7/09).