LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (3-3) vs.
DALLAS BAPTIST (5-0)
Thursday, December 5 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
100.7 The Score
Fox 34 News Now
 
SHOOT FOR THE (LONE)STAR
It seems early, and compared to years past it is, but every remaining game on the Lubbock Christian men's basketball schedule is a conference game, starting this Thursday as they host Dallas Baptist. The Chaps already had a brief taste of league action, playing in the Lone Star Conference for the first time this season as they took on Angelo State on November 23 in a 73-63 loss on the road. With 21 conference games left, LCU will look to do better than the seventh-place spot they were picked to finish in the league's preseason poll.
 
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Looking at the rankings across all of Division II, Lubbock Christian has one of the best defenses in the country so far this year. The Chaps rank No. 16 nationally (No. 2 in the Lone Star Conference) in scoring defense, allowing an average of just 62.3 points per game this year. LCU has done especially well in the turnover battle, forcing 18.8 per game (17^th most nationally) while committing just 13.3 per game themselves for a turnover margin of 5.5 (20^th best mark nationally). Chap opponents are shooting 40.9 percent this season (35.0 percent from behind the arc).
 
DISHING THEM OUT
Sophomore guard Cameron Copley has picked up right where he left off in his freshman campaign, leading the team and ranking near the top of the conference in assists. The Canadian native is tied for fourth in the LSC in assists per game (5.0) and is fourth in the league in assist to turnover ratio (2.5), having turned the ball over just 12 times this year. Copley's season-high in assist came in LCU's most recent game, as he dished out eight in 28 minutes during the win over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
 
 CHARITY STRIPE
As a team this season, LCU is shooting 77.8 percent from the free throw line, which is the second-best mark in the Lone Star Conference and the 34^th best percentage in all of Division II. Four different Chaps have yet to miss a foul shot this season, led by freshman Ty Caswell, who is a perfect 5-5 from the line. Kobe Thompson has gotten to the line most frequently, hitting 28 of his 38 free-throw attempts for a .737 percentage.
 
NO PLACE LIKE…
Thursday's matchup with DBU will be the fourth of 14 scheduled games at home for LCU during the 2019-20 season. They have a perfect 3-0 record on their home court so far this season, having beaten Randall, Southwest and Oklahoma Panhandle State by an average of 31.7 points per game. 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.
 
TWENTY-PLUS
After having no players reach the 20-point or better mark in each of their first three games, four different LCU players have now scored at least 20 in the last three contests. Thompson started the trend, scoring a career-high 20 in the loss at Angelo State. Parker Hicks did it next, scoring 22 points against Southwest, which is the most points scored by an LCU player in a game this year. Freshman Ty Caswell and Silas Crisler then did it in the same game, scoring 21 and 20, respectively, in the win against Oklahoma Panhandle State.
 
READING THE RANKINGS
With Dallas Baptist ranked No. 19 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, Lubbock Christian will be facing its second opponent ranked in the top 25 this year. LCU's only previous ranked opponent was Colorado School of Mines, who was ranked No. 14 when the Chaps lost on the road to them. The last time a ranked opponent visited the Rip Griffin Center, however, LCU was more successful, taking down No. 4 St. Edward's in their first win over a top five opponent since 2012. Dallas Baptist is also just outside the top 25 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Poll.  
 
BOARD MAN GETS PAID
Even after losing their leading rebounder from a year ago and all-time LCU rebounding record-holder Brennan Fowler, Lubbock Christian has not seen a significant drop-off in their numbers on the glass. The Chaps are currently averaging 33.3 rebounds per game. Of those, 26.0 per game have come on the defensive glass, which ranks as the sixth-most among LSC teams. Hicks currently leads the team with 5.7 rebounds per game, but four other Chaps are averaging at least 3.0 boards per game as well.
 
SCOUTING DALLAS BAPTIST

•  The Patriots are No. 4 nationally in steals per game with 12.0 and rank seven in Division II, forcing 20 turnovers a game
• Junior guard Chandler Jacobs returns to DBU after being named to the All-Heartland Conference First Team last season. He is averaging a team-leading 19.8 points per game so far this season and is second in the LSC with a .564 field-goal percentage
• No DBU player besides Jacobs is averaging double-figure points, but Jonathyn Washington, Conner Lidiak and Carter Brown are all scoring just over nine points per game
• Dallas Baptist was 23-11 last year, placing second in the Heartland Conference and earning the No. 5 seed in the South Central Regional. They were picked to finish sixth in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll
• Blake Flickner is in his fifth season leading Dallas Baptist, having posted a 254-165 all-time record with the Patriots

 
THE SERIES WITH THE PATRIOTS
Lubbock Christian and DBU will meet for the 50^th time ever on Thursday when the Patriots visit the Rip Griffin Center, with DBU holding a 30-19 all-time edge in the series. Dallas Baptist won the first meeting in 1972 and another eight straight after that before LCU's first win on February 20, 1976. The Patriots have also won the last three meetings between the two teams, with LCU's last win coming on February 8, 2018 in Lubbock. The two teams also met twice in the 1965-66 season with Dallas Baptist winning twice, but those games are not counted in the all-time series, as they took place before LCU was a four-year institution.