LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (14-7, 5-4 Heartland)
vs. St. Mary's (10-11, 2-7)
Saturday, Feb. 7 – 7 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU leads 8-5
 
DEFENDING THE RIP
Lubbock Christian University will remain at home this week in the midst of a four-game homestand that has already seen a pair of wins (vs. Newman and Arkansas Fort Smith). The Chaps have been nearly impossible to beat on their home floor this season, posting a 9-1 record in the Rip Griffin Center. LCU's dominance in the Rip extends beyond this season as well, as they have won 59 games and lost just 10 on their home floor in the last five seasons.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Senior Guard Isaac Asrat was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Week for games played Jan. 28 - Feb. 3, the conference announced on Monday. Asrat dropped back-to-back 20-plus point games during a 2-0 week for the Chaps who moved above .500 in conference play. Asrat shot 12-of-27 from the floor during the week including 8-of-16 from beyond the arc. It was his first time to claim the award this season and the fifth time for an LCU player to win it, after forward Brennen Fowler claimed it four times earlier in the season.
 
SHARP SHOOTING
The Chaparrals have shot better than 50 percent from the field in 10 games this season, winning every one of those contests. They have the best shooting percentage in the Heartland Conference at .479. 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. Last Thursday, LCU won for only the fourth time this season when shooting worse than 50 percent, finishing the game against Newman with a .456 percentage.
 
RHYMIN' AND STEALIN'
In Saturday's game against Arkansas-Fort Smith, LCU set a new season high with 15 total steals. It broke their previous high of nine, which came on 12/19 against UT Permian Basin and was the most steals in a single game by the Chaps since 1/27/18. Six of the steals came from Isaac Asrat, who set a new career high and matched the single-game high in the Heartland Conference this season.
 
FEELIN' TWENTY-TOO
Senior guard Isaac Asrat has been on a tear since the start of 2019, putting up more than 20 points in five of the seven games played in the new year, including the last two straight. It has more than doubled his 20-point game total, giving him eight on the season, which also ties him for the most on the team (Brennen Fowler also has eight). Asrat's only two games without at least 20 points since the calendar turned were 1/4 (six points vs. Randall) and 1/26 (11 vs. Oklahoma Christian).
 
FACING THE HEARTLAND
The Chaparrals are in their sixth season of Heartland Conference play after first joining for the 2013-14 campaign. They have now played a total of 100 games in conference play, making Thursday's contest against UAFS their 102^nd in Heartland play. LCU is 65-36 in those six seasons giving them a .636 winning percentage overall.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE, NO TROUBLE
Forward Brennen Fowler recorded his ninth double-double of the season last Thursday against Newman (26 points, 13 rebounds), but it was also the 33rd of his prestigious career. His 34 career-double-doubles rank fifth above active Division II players and is tied for the 24 most among active players across all divisions. Fowler has a chance to reach fourth place in Division II, with the next player having recorded 37 in his career.
 
CAUTIOUS COPLEY
Guard Cameron Copley ranks four in the Heartland Conference in Assist/Turnover ratio this season at 1.8. He is the team leader (and sixth in the conferences) in assists with  (3.8 per game), and the Canadian native takes care of the ball, turning it over less than two times per contest.
 
FIFTEEN OR FEWER
LCU has turned the ball over 15 times or less in four of their last five games. To start the season, the Chaps were 9-0 when turning the ball over less than 15 times in a game, but they have lost the two games even when limiting their turnovers to move to 10-2 on the season. LCU opponents average 14.7 turnovers per game.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT ST. MARY'S

• Three players on the Rattler roster hale from outside the United State, with athletes coming from faraway places like Croatia, Serbia and New Zealand
• Rattler forward Petar Radojicic recently surpassed Brennen Fowler to lead the conference in field-goal percentage at .581
• St. Mary's is second to last in scoring margin, averaging only 71.8 points per game while giving up 72.5
• StMU is last in the conference in turnover margin, averaging 16.9 per game while focing just 12 per game from their opponents
• Four Rattlers are averaging double figures this season, including Markques, Petar Radojicic, Caleb Jordan and Skyler Brooks

 
THE SERIES WITH ST. MARYS
LCU leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1992, eight wins to five. St. Mary's was the winner of the first three meetings between the two teams, but the Chaps have taken six of the last seven matchups, including four straight.
 
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (January 12, 2019) – The Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team took a late first-half lead and pushed past St. Mary's 80-68 on Saturday afternoon, marking just their second road win of the 2018-19 season.
 
The Chaparrals' win was the fourth straight against the Rattlers and their sixth in the last seven meetings between the two teams. St. Mary's' last win came on New Year's Eve, 2016 in San Antonio.
 
LCU started slow in the contest, as St. Mary's scored the first seven points of the game. Isaac Asrat finally got the Chaps on the board almost two minutes with an and-one jumper in the paint.
 
Asrat had a strong game after not playing in Thursday's contest against Texas A&M International, finishing with 24 points and eight rebounds. The 24 points marked the 12^th time this season the senior scored in double figures and was five short of matching his season high, which was set on Dec. 1 against UAFS.
 
The Chaps closed the gap to just one point with 12:40 left in the opening half, as Silas Crisler stole the ball and Rashaan Proctor benefited with a fastbreak jumper in the paint. The Rattlers remained on top, however, until the 8:59 mark, when Proctor hit a layup to give LCU a lead for the first time in the game.
 
Steals came often in the game for Lubbock Christian, as they racked up eight overall, just one less than their season high. Crisler and Kobe Thompson led the way with a pair of steals each.
 
St. Mary's see-sawed back in front on the following possession, but LCU responded with a 10-point run that gave the Chaps the lead for good. LCU continued to push as the half wound down, leading by as many as 13 points when Silas Crisler hit a three-pointer with 1:07 to go. Heading into the locker room, LCU still led by double-digits.
 
The Rattlers hit the first bucket of the second half to cut their deficit to nine points, but that was the last time LCU would lead by less than 10. Brennen Fowler scored the next points, hitting twice from the charity stripe and sparking another 10-0 Lubbock Christian run. The next St. Mary's basket came with 16:55 left to play, and by that point the Chaparral's were leading by 17.
 
Fowler had 12 points and grabbed seven boards, reaching the double-digit scoring mark again after a season-low seven points on Thursday against Texas A&M International. Jay Workman was the only other Chap to finish in double-figures with 10 points. It is the fifth time this season the Kermit native has scored at least 10 points.
 
Lubbock Christian continued to hit shots the rest of the way, not letting the Rattlers get any closer than 11 points (2:18 left to play), but the Chaps had another short run of six points to hold onto the lead and finish out the win.
 
Skyler Brooks led St. Mary's ins scoring with 16 points as the Rattlers fell to 9-6 on the season and 1-2 in Heartland Conference play.