Men's Basketball | 01.25.2019

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (12-6, 3-3 Heartland)
at Oklahoma Christian (6-11, 1-5 Heartland)
Thursday, Jan. 24 - 7:30 p.m.
The Eagles' Nest (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Radio: 100.7FM
All-Time Series: OC leads 38-26
 
BIRD BATTLE IN OKC
Coming off a road loss in the capitol city, Lubbock Christian University will complete its two-game road trip on Saturday with a matchup in the Eagles' Nest, taking on a struggling Oklahoma Christian team with which they have a long history.
 
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
LCU has been hard to beat in Saturday games this season, posting a 7-1 record in those games. The Chaps' only loss on a Saturday this season was in a road game against Cameron on Dec. 15. Conversely, LCU has struggled in Thursday night contests, posting just one win to four losses on that day of the week.
 
TAKING CARE
In this past Thursday's game against St. Edward's, LCU suffered a loss for the first time all season when turning the ball over less than 15 times. The Chaps turned the ball over only 13 times against the Hilltoppers and were previously 9-0 when taking care of the ball that well. When they commit more than 15 turnovers, they are 3-5 this season.
 
SHARP SHOOTING
The Chaparrals have shot better than 50 percent from the field in nine games this season, winning every one of those contests. They have the best shooting percentage in the Heartland Conference at .485. If LCU hits less than half of its shots, however, it has a losing record of just 3-6. The Chaps' best shooting game this season was on Dec. 19 when they shot 55.4 percent in a 23-point win against UT Permian Basin. The last time the Chaps shot worse than 50 percent from the field and won was on 11/17 against Cameron, when they shot 49.1 percent.
 
SHARING IS CARING   
Redshirt freshman Cameron Copley is sixth in the Heartland Conference in assists per game with 3.4. Six times this season the Canadian native has had at least five in a single game, and his career and season high came on Dec. 29 against Jarvis Christian College when he had eight.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Ja'Qualyn Gilbreath is second in the Heartland and No. 39 nationally in free throw shooting percentage. He has shot 45 total free throws on the year and has hit exactly 40 of them for an .889 percentage. The conference leader is Markques Houston of St. Mary's, who is shooting 93.1 percent from the line this year.
 
FROM THE FIELD 
LCU has limited opponents to a shooting average of 42.9 percent on the season, which ranks fifth in the Heartland Conference but is 74^th out of 304 Division II men's basketball programs. The Chaps have only been out-shot from the field three times season, and the last time an opponent shot better than LCU was 1/17 vs. Rogers State. The Chaps are 2-1 when being out-shot by their opponent.
 
FOWLER'S FOUR
Lubbock Christian senior forward Brennen Fowler ranks in the top three of the Heartland Conference in four different statistical categories this season, including scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks. The Smyer native is first in FG percentage at 56.7 percent, second in both scoring and rebounding with 17.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and third in blocks with 1.4 a game.
 
 
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. He passed Rick Russworm, who grabbed 753 rebounds in a career that spanned from 1971-1975. He is now up to 812 in his career, which ranks sixth among active Division II men's basketball players.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN

• The Eagles have lost four out of their last five games, with their only win I that time coming on 1/19 against St. Mary's
• OC's Will Lienhard leads the conference in rebounding with 12.3 per game, ranking as the only player with more rebounds per game than LCU's Brennen Fowler
• The Eagles are dead last in the Heartland in scoring defense, giving up an average of 7.93 points per game
• Only two teams in the Heartland have a negative scoring margin, and OC is one of them at -1.1. Texas A&M International sits last in the conference at -7.5
• Lienhard is first in the Heartland in blocked shots at 2.1 per game

 
THE SERIES WITH THE EAGLES
Lubbock Christian has faced off with Oklahoma Christian 64 times since the two teams first met in 1971 (LCU win, 69-62), with the Eagles taking the majority of the wins (38) throughout the matchup history. The Chaps set the program single-game record for made three-pointers against Oklahoma Christian in 1998, hitting 20. OC took the last contest 86-81, but LCU has controlled the series as of late, winning eight times in the last 10 meetings.
 
 
LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TWO
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (February 17, 2018) – Road woes continue for the Lubbock Christian University Chaparrals who dropped a heartbreaker Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Chaps finished the day with 42 points inside the paint while shooting 45.2% from the field. Senior Marcos Schuster led the way for LCU with 23 points and four steals.

Lubbock Christian jumped out early scoring 16 of the game's first 22 points in the opening seven minutes. Oklahoma Christian finally found life and took a 25-24 advantage over the Chaps with 8:58 remaining in the half. Schuster stole the lead right back for LCU with an old-fashioned three-point play. The teams traded leads two more times before OC went on a 5-1 scoring run to end the half with a 35-31 advantage over the Chaparrals.
 
Schuster and Brennen Fowler led the Chap attack in the opening period accounting for eight points each. Fowler showed his efficiency going 4-for-7 from the field while scooping up four rebounds. LCU held the Eagles to 38.7% shooting but were severely outrebounded by a 26-15 margin. All 15 of the Chaparrals boards came on the defensive end of the floor leading to zero second-chance points. The Lubbock Christian squad recorded a 42.3% field goal average of their own but were limited to a pair of three-point buckets. Schuster snagged four of the Chaps five steals in the period pushing the Eagles into nine turnovers.
 
Isaac Asrat got things cooking for LCU at the beginning of the second half with a mid-range jumper. Fowler and Kentton Williams then provided a one-two punch that found the Chaparrals up 41-38 with 16:12 to play. Jay Workman followed up with back-to-back buckets extending Lubbock Christian's lead. However, Oklahoma Christian strung together a 17-3 scoring run to jump in front of LCU for the final time. Try as they might, the Chaps were unable to overcome the deficit and ultimately fell to the Eagles by a final score of 86-81.
 
Schuster piled on 15 more points in the second half to lead the Chap offensive efforts. Williams shot a perfect 4-4 from the field while knocking down both of his free throw attempts on his way to 10 points of his own in the period. Lubbock Christian's defense was simply unable to contain the Eagles who finished the final 20 minutes with a 65.5% field goal average.
 
LCU closed out the day shooting 28-of-62 (45.2%), but were still outscored inside the painted area 44-42 by the Eagle offense. Oklahoma Christian's powerful offensive performance was highlighted by a 51.7% field goal average, a 70.8% clip from the free throw line and a 63.6% performance from three-point range.
 
Williams accounted for 16 points while Fowler (14 points) and Asrat (11 points) also scored in double-figures.
 
The loss to Oklahoma Christian snaps a three-game win streak for the Chaps leading up to their regular season finale. LCU now stands 13-13 for the season and 9-6 in conference play.