LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (3-4) vs.
TARLETON STATE (4-4)
Saturday, December 14 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
100.7 The Score
lonestarconferencenetwork.com
 
SLIM MARGAIN FOR ERROR
Lubbock Christian will face in Tarleton in their third Lone Star Conference game of the season, still looking for their first win in the new league. Both losses in LSC play have been by exactly 10 points (to Angelo State and Dallas Baptist), but the final scores don't tell the whole story. In their LSC opener against Angelo State, the Chaps led at halftime and trailed by just two points with seven minutes to go in the game but went cold for a long enough stretch for the Rams to pull away. Last week's game against Dallas Baptist was even tighter, featuring a 10-point second half comeback by LCU and eventually going three overtimes before No. 19 DBU was finally able to escape with a win. The Chaps will be in need of a complete-game effort come Saturday with the Texans in town.
 
SHOT-STOPPERS
Even with a triple-overtime game in the stats, the Chaps still rank near the top of the league in scoring defense and have the second-best field goal percentage defense in the LSC. Through the first seven games of the season, LCU is giving up an average of 67.3 points per game (62.1 points per game in regulation), and the most points they have allowed in a game is 75 on November 9 against No. 14 Colorado School of Mines. Opponents are shooting just .417 against the Chaps, which ranks only behind DBU's .381 opponent field goal percentage in the Lone Star Conference.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Although LCU has taken the third-fewest free throw attempts in the conference this season, they have done well to take advantage of the charity opportunities they have been given, shooting a league-best 79.1 percent on free throws. That percentage is also good enough to rank No. 18 in all of Division II. Ty Caswell (9-9), Parker Hicks (4-4), Silas Crisler (5-5) and Zach Stepp (2-2) are all perfect from the line so far this season.
 
NO PLACE LIKE…
Saturday's matchup with Tarleton will be the fifth of 14 scheduled games at home for LCU during the 2019-20 season. They have a 3-1 record on their home court so far this season, having lost to DBU last Thursday. The loss to the Patriots was their first at home since November 29, 2018. The Rip Griffin Center, where LCU plays its home games, was named after B.R. "Rip" Griffin, a former secretary of the LCU Board of Trustees, whose generous donation of $500,000, made possible the $4,200,000, 51,500 square foot facility. Officially dedicated on October 9, 2000, the arena seats 1,950 people for sporting events. The Chaps went 13-1 on their home court last season, and they have not posted a losing record at home since the 2006-07 season.
 
NEW-LOOK CHAPS
After losing their two leading scorers from a season ago, Lubbock Christian brought in a number of new faces to help the offense reload. So far this season, just over 50 percent (37.3 points per game) of the Chaps' scoring is coming from players who were not on the team a season ago. Lloyd Daniels leads the group of newcomers with a team-high 12.4 points per game. He is coming off a career-high 25 points in the loss to Dallas Baptist. Caswell, Hicks, Aamer Muhammad and Joshua Davey have all contributed in their first season at LCU as well.
 
LONG RANGE EFFICIENCY
Lubbock Christian is currently shooting 38.1 percent from behind the arc, which is the fifth-best mark in the Lone Star Conference. It is also the best mark by an LCU team since the 2016-17 season when the Chaps shot slightly better at 38.3 percent on three-pointers. The last time LCU was at least one full percentage point better shooting three-pointers was the 2013-14 season when they shot 41.6 percent from behind the arc. Stepp, Daniels and Hicks are all shooting 50 percent or better, and Caswell is 15-33 (45.5 percent) as well.
 
LCU'S DEPTH
In just seven games this season, head coach Todd Duncan has already seen five different players lead his team in scoring, including Rashaan Proctor, Hicks, Daniels, Caswell and Kobe Thompson. In the most recent game against DBU, four Chaps finished in double figures. LCU has also had eight different players lead the team in rebounding for a game, with six Chaps averaging at least 3.0 rebounds per game. Eleven players have seen playing time this season, with eight averaging at least 15 minutes per game.
 
ALL-TIME
Lubbock Christian's basketball history began in 1957 with 52-43 win against First Foursquare Gospel when the school was still a junior college. In 1970, however, then-LCC became a four-year senior college and started competing at the NAIA level against East Texas Baptist. Since the transition to senior college status, has gone 875-898 (.493), posting winning records in 26 seasons. Four coaches have led the Chaps, including Larry Hays, Darrell Price, John Copeland and current head coach Todd Duncan.
 
SCOUTING TARLETON

• Head coach Chris Reisman is in his second year coaching the team after going 21-10 in his inaugural campaign a season ago. He took over for his father, Lonn Reisman, who is the school's athletic director, coached the team for 24 seasons prior to Chris taking over
• On September 30, Tarleton announced that an official invitation from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) had been extended and the Texans would be moving to NCAA Division I following the conclusion of the 2019-20 school year. The Texans will compete in the WAC for all sports except football, which will compete as an independent
• Senior forward Josh Hawley is averaging 19.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game so far this season, leading his team in both categories. He also ranks No. 4 nationally and leads the Lone Star Conference with seven double-doubles this year
• The Texans average 72.9 points per game, ranking 12^th in the conference. They are much higher ranked defensively, allowing 69.5 points per game, which is the sixth-best mark in the LSC
• Tarleton's Clashon Gaffney leads the conference and ranks No. 31 nationally with 1.88 blocked shots per game this season

 
THE SERIES WITH THE TEXANS
Lubbock Christian and Tarleton State met for the first time ever in 1978, with LCU coming away with a 71-58 win. The win set the tone for the all-time series, which the Chaps currently lead 15-9. Tarleton's first win over LCU came in 1981, sparking a three-game win streak. LCU's longest streak of wins against TSU was from 1984 to 1988 when they won eight consecutive times. The Chaps and Texans have faced off just four times since 1988, with the Texans winning all four including the most recent meeting in 2014, which was by a score of 65-61. With Tarleton moving to Division I next season, this could be the last meeting ever between the two teams.