LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (18-8, 9-5 Heartland)
vs. ST. EDWARD'S (25-2, 14-1)
Saturday, March 2 – 2 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU leads 15-9
 
SENIOR DAY
Lubbock Christian University will play its final game of the 2018-19 regular season and play at the Rip Griffin Center for the last time this year, taking on . Prior to the game, the Chaps will honor their two senior players along with their senior student manager. Forward Brennen Fowler is the only senior player on the team who has been with the Chaps for all four years of his career, but he is joined by Isaac Asrat, who is the only other senior on the team after transferring from Texas A&M-Commerce. Student manager JT Weldon is also completing his final season with the team and will be honored as well.
 
LUCKY NO. 7
In week two of the NCAA South Central Regional rankings, not a single team moved and the Chaps held firm in the seventh spot. Lubbock Christian is 19-8 overall with a 16-8 record against fellow South Central Region Teams, and in good position as the top eight teams advance to the NCAA Tournament. St. Edward's leads the rankings in the No. 1 spot, and fellow Heartland Conference member Dallas Baptist is No 6.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
LCU forward Brennen Fowler was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Week for games played Feb. 18-24, marking the fifth time this season that he was the winner of the award. Fowler posted his 13th and 14th double-doubles of the season as the Chaps went 2-0 on the week with important regional wins over Newman and Oklahoma Christian. He averaged 27 points a game and pulled down 13 rebounds in both games. He is averaging a double-double on the year with 19.2 points and 10.2 rebounds a game.
 
TOP-RANKED
Saturday's matchup with St. Edward' will be just the fifth time this season that the Chaps have faced off with a team ranked in the top 25. The Chaps have two early-season wins against top 25 teams, taking down No. 18 Regis on Nov. 10 and beating No. 7 West Texas A&M on Dec. 6. LCU has yet to get a win against a top five team, however, in two chances. Their first matchup with WT this season was with the Buffs ranked No. 4, which LCU lost, and St. Edward's was ranked No. 3 earlier this season when the Hilltoppers won on their home court.
 
SOME ASSISTANCE, PLEASE
Guard Cameron Copley has quickly been increasing his assist numbers in recent weeks, posting at least five in each of the last five games. In Heartland Conference play, the Canadian native has racked up the second most assists per game at 4.7, only behind Hilltopper Augutst Haas, who ranks No. 6 nationally with 6.7 per game. Copley set a new career high last Saturday as he assisted nine LCU baskets.
 
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
Lubbock Christian has been almost un-waveringly good in Saturday games this season, whether at home or on the road. The Chaps are 11-2 in Saturday games this season and they have not lost a Saturday game since Jan. 26 against Oklahoma Christian. They have not lost a Saturday matchup in the friendly confines of the Rip Griffin Center yet this season.
 
DAUNTING DEFENSE
Out of the 304 Division II men's basketball teams in the country, LCU ranks in the top 30 of them in field goal percentage defense this season. They have limited opponents to a 41.3 shooting percentage, holding opponents to lower than 30 percent in 12 games this season (11-1 in that time). One of those teams the Chaps held under 40 percent was Oklahoma Christian in their most recent game, when they limited the Eagles to the third lowest opponent percentage of the year at 31.8.
 
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
Lubbock Christian forward Brennen Fowler is averaging a double-double for the season with 19.2 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per contest. Both of those figures are second best in the Heartland Conference. On last Saturday against Oklahoma Christian, Fowler posted his 14th actual double-double of the season, scoring 25 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. His career total for double-doubles is 39, which is tied for the fourth most among active Division II players with Gage Davis of St. Cloud State.
 
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 108 games in conference play, making Saturday's contest against St. Edward's their 110th in Heartland play. LCU is 73-37 in those six seasons giving them a .663 winning percentage overall.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT ST. EDWARD'S

• St. Edward's has already clinched this year's Heartland Conference title outright, winning it for the fourth time in program history, but the first time since 2008
• The Hilltoppers rank No. 4 nationally in scoring margin, winning their games by an average of 17.5 points per game
• Guard Ashton Spears ranks 23^rd in all of Division II with 2.30 steals per game
• St. Edward's ranks second nationally in turnover margin, forcing opponents into 18 per game while only turning it over 11.5 times on average themselves
• The Hilltoppers do not shoot well from the charity stripe, hitting only 71.7 percent of their free throws to rank seventh in the conference

 
THE SERIES WITH THE HILLTOPPERS
Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's first faced off in 1985, as the Chaps took the series opener 75-64. The win set the tone for LCU, who has won 15 of the 26 meetings overall. SEU did win six straight at one point, from 1990 to 1994, but LCU responded with the next seven wins and also rattled off a six-game win streak from 2015-2018. The Hilltoppers have won each of the last two games, but by an average of just seven points.