TULSA, Okla. (March 2, 2018) – Tournament play opened up in explosive fashion for No.4-seed Lubbock Christian University, who defeated No.5-seeded Rogers State 78-63 in the Quarterfinals of the Heartland Conference Tournament inside Union Multipurpose Activity Center Friday afternoon. Isaac Asrat led the Chaparrals with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. Four LCU players registered double-scoring figures on the day, helping the Chaps to their third tournament victory since becoming Heartland Conference members. The Chaps had to outshine a Gage Loy's 32-point performance, with 28 poured into the second half.
 
Rogers State stepped out to an early 6-4 lead over the Chaps following a mid-range jumper from Saint Hilaire at the 16:30 mark. The advantage was short lived for Hillcats, as senior Marcos Schuster marched his way down the court for a layup 16-seconds later to tie the contest. Schuster's bucket sparked an 11-2 scoring run for LCU, allowing them to a five-point edge over the next five minutes of play. Schuster then split a pair of free throws immediately after the eight-minute media timeout, extending the Chaps lead to 20-11. Over the final seven minutes of the opening half, LCU tightened up their defense allowing just three more field goals from the Hillcats. Kentton Williams drained a go-ahead free throw at the end of the half, giving the Chaparrals a 31-17 lead heading into the locker room.
 
The Chaps found their way to a 41.4% shooting average in the opening period after netting 12-of-29 from the field. Of their 12 buckets, 11 came from inside the paint. Workman led the Lubbock Christian squad in the first half with eight points on 4-for-6 from the floor. Workman and Asrat stayed on the floor for all 20 minutes in the first period. LCU seemed to rattle the Rogers State unit with their defensive play, forcing the Hillcats into a 28.6% shooting performance with eight buckets on 28 attempts. RSU had no luck from the perimeter missing all 12 of their three-point attempts in the period.
 
Gage Loy wasted no time for Rogers State knocking down a trey 14 seconds into the final half. Baron Smith Jr. also joined in on RSU's attack combining with Loy to score the Hillcats first 17 points of the period. Fortunately for the Chaparrals, Schuster, Fowler and Asrat showed their poise combining for 15 points of their own at the start of the half. At the 13:02 mark, Workman's defense pressed RSU's Loy forcing him to cough up the ball. Workman then launched a pass up the court to Kentton Williams who was open for a fast break layup that put the Chaps up 48-34. Though Loy continued his second-half rampage for the Hillcats, the Chaps were able to weather the storm and even took a 17-point lead on three separate occasions throughout the final 10 minutes of regulation. Lubbock Christian's final 13 points came from the free throw line, allowing the Chaparrals to cruise on to a 79-63 victory.
 
After a solid shooting performance in the first half, Lubbock Christian stepped it up even more with a 62.5% field goal average in the second period. Asrat unloaded for 16 second-half points leading the Chaps to a 27-of-53 (50.9%) performance from the field for the day. After opening up with six free throws in the first half, LCU went 15-for-20 from the stripe in the second period to finish the contest with a combined 72.4% (21-for-29) clip. Schuster (15 points), Workman (13 points) and Fowler (10 points) also closed out the first-round of tournament play in double-scoring figures.
 
Lubbock Christian improves to 14-14 overall this season following the win and now stands 2-1 all-time in Heartland Conference Tournament openers.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Asrat shot 3-of-8 from beyond the arc accounting for all three of LCU's triples for the contest. The Chaps performance from three-point range ties a season-low average at 20% (3-for-15).
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Up next, Lubbock Christian will have their hands full with the tournament's No.1-seed in Dallas Baptist University. The Patriots opened up their play Thursday evening with an 84-72 victory over Texas A&M International. The Chaps will square off against the Patriots inside the UMAC with tip off set for 12 p.m. Saturday afternoon.