LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (10-4, 1-1 Heartland)
at TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (3-10, 0-2 Heartland)
Thursday, January 10 - 7:30 PM
Kinesiology and Convocation Building (Laredo, Texas)
Radio: None
All-Time Series: LCU leads 6-4
 
HOME COURT DOMINANCE
In each of the last six meetings between the Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team and Texas A&M-International, it has been the home team walking away with the victory. The Dust Devils won the last three times the two teams played in Laredo, but by an average of just five points per contest, while the Chaparrals have taken care of business in the Rip Griffin Center in the last three years. LCU's last road win in Laredo was a 74-67 win on Feb. 28, 2015.
 
LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME
Lubbock Christian University's Brennen Fowler set a new Chaparral single-game scoring record with 47 points, marking just the fifth 40-point game in Chap history, to help LCU push past a hot start from Randall and defeat the Saints 104-98
 
LCU led for just 8:58 in the game after Randall opened the game 13-13 from the field, including 10-10 from the behind the arc. The Saints cooled off from behind the arc a little in the second half, but still shot 75% from three-point range overall in the game, forcing the Chaps to outscore them.
 
The 104 points for the Chaps marked the first time the team had scored triple digits since Nov. 29, 2013 against Ecclesia College and was only the fifth time LCU had surpassed the 100-point mark under head coach Todd Duncan.
 
Randall's scorching shooting start gave them a large early lead as they pushed the gap to 14 points less than 10 minutes in, but Fowler kept the Chaps in the game with a perfect 11-11 performance. He also crashed the boards for seven rebounds, setting him up for 15 total in the game and his sixth double-double of the season.
 
The Saints still held a double-digit lead with just under three minutes left in the half, but an 8-0 in one minute cut the Chap deficit to two, which is what Randal was still leading by as the two teams went into the locker room for halftime.
 
In the second half, the Chaps never allowed the Saints to get ahead by double-digits but struggled to get on top. Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath finally hit a go-ahead basket with 6:45 left to play to give LCU an 86-85 lead.
 
The two teams see-sawed back and forth for the next three minutes, but the Chaparrals finally pull away when an Isaac Asrat three-pointer sparked an 8-1 run that gave LCU the lead for good.
 
Fowler joined elite Chap company when the 40-point performance, with only four other players in history recording scoring efforts in the 40s. His 47 points surpassed the previous record of 43 set by Dusty Middleton on Feb. 10, 2001 and is also the sixth most points scored in a single game by a Division II player this year.
 
Two other Chaps finished in double-figures against the Saints in Gilbreath (15) and Zach Stepp, who hit three shots from behind the arc and had a career-high 13 points.
 
Randall, which competes in the NCCAA and is the three-time defending national champion at that level, had five players finish in double-figures, including team-leading scorer Antonio Wilson, who had 32 points.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Brennan Fowler was named this week's Heartland Conference men's basketball Player of the Week after setting the new LCU single-game scoring record against Randall. The award was give for games played from Dec. 31 – Jan. 6. It is the fourth time the senior from Smyer, Texas has been recognized with this award this season.
 
REBOUNDING RECORD
In Lubbock Christian's game on Dec. 29 against Jarvis Christian, senior Brennen Fowler pulled down 18 rebounds, setting not only a Rip Griffin Center single-game record, but pushing into first place on the Chaparrals' all-time rebounding list with 767. He passed Rick Russworm, who grabbed 753 rebounds in a career that spanned from 1971-1975. Fowler added another 15 boards last week against Randall, giving him 782 for his career. Among active Division II players, Fowler ranks No. 6 in total rebounds.
 
SHARING IS CARING
The Chaparrals have had five different players lead them in assists in a game this season, including Jay Workman, Cameron Copley, Brandon Burrell, Brennen Fowler and Isaac Asrat. LCU currently ranks fourth in the Heartland Conference in assists per game with 15.07, which is two more than they averaged in the 2017-18 season. Copley is the team leader in assists/game with 3.9.
 
FACING THE HEARTLAND
The Chaps have already had a brief taste of Heartland Conference play, suffering a home loss Dallas Baptist before taking down Arkansas-Fort Smith on the road. Last season LCU went 9-7 in Heartland play, and the team has gone 49-27 against conference opponents since the start of the 2014-15 season.
 
LOCKDOWN IN LAREDO
Although they have just three wins to their name this season, the Dust Devils of Texas A&M International have been playing the best defense in the Heartland Conference. TAMIU has only allowed opponents to score 66.6 points a game through their first 13 games of the season, which is not only first in the conference, but is the 30^th best scoring defense in the nation.
 
CATEGORY FOUR FOWLER
Brennen Fowler ranks in the top 3 in the Heartland Conference in four different statistical categories through the first half of the season. The senior leads in scoring (19.5 points per game) and field goal percentage (60 percent from the field) while ranking second in rebounding (10.1 per game) and third in blocks (1.6 per game).
 
HEATING UP
After leading the team in scoring average last season (16.8 points per game), Isaac Asrat had a slow start to the 2018-19 year, averaging four points in the opening two contests. The slow start did not hold for long, however, as Asrat has scored at least 10 points in 11 of the 12 games since and bringing his scoring average up to a team-second 14.9 points per game.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Lubbock Christian is 1-2 in true road games this season and lost their last contest on an opponent's home court on Dec. 15 against Cameron. The Chaps' lone road victory came on Dec. 1 against Arkansas Fort Smith.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT THE DUST DEVILS

• TAMIU is winless in Heartland Conference play this season (0-2) after winning just four games against conference opponents last season
• Although they rank No. 1 in the Heartland in scoring defense, the Dust Devils are dead last in scoring offense, averaging just 58.2 points per game
• Senior wing Xabier Gomez leads the conference and ranks No. 29 nationally in steals per game, with 2.83 per contest through 12 games
• Gomez is also the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game, which ranks sixth in the conference
• The Dust Devils are last in the conference in defensive rebounds (20.8 per game), but are sixth in offensive rebounds (9.2 per game)

 
THE SERIES WITH TAMIU
Lubbock Christian first played Texas A&M International in 2014, when the Dust Devils got their only road win of the series by a score of 83-82 in Lubbock. The Chaps are 6-4 all-time against, while TAMIU's four wins have come by an average of just 4.25 points and they have taken two one-point victories. The Dust Devils were victorious in the last meeting, holding LCU to a season-low in points for a 49-48 win.