LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (9-5, 6-3, 3-2) at
WEST TEXAS A&M (16-1, 8-1, 5-0)
Saturday, January 18 – 4 p.m.
First United Bank Center – Canyon, Texas
lonestarconferencenetwork.com
Oldies 97.7 FM
 
BACK ON TRACK
After seeing a six-game win streak come to a close a week ago against Angelo State and suffering just their second home loss of the season, the Lubbock Christian men's basketball team rebounded with a road victory over Eastern New Mexico on Thursday night, 62-60. Lloyd Daniels led the Chaps in scoring in the win with 19 points overall, including nine in the game's final seven minutes to spark LCU's comeback. The junior was an efficient 9-12 from the floor. Freshman Ty Caswell also pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in the win. LCU will now turn their attention to the highest nationally ranked team in the Lone Star Conference (NABC), West Texas A&M, who they will face in Canyon on Saturday.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
On August 6, 2019, Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M announced the establishment of the Rivalry on the Range series, which is a year-long competition including 15 sports in which the two sports will compete against one another. The Rivalry on the Range series scoring components will include head-to-head battles in men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball, with additional points available in postseason play. So far, LCU has earned four points in the series, one for each win in men's and women's soccer, and two for placing above WT in the LSC Women's Cross Country Championship. Buff and Lady Buff athletic teams have also earned four points, with two regular season volleyball wins and a higher finish in the LSC Men's Cross Country Championship. The only thing separating the two schools right now is the half a point West Texas A&M won during a golf tournament between the athletic departments of each institution. Fans can review the scoring system and follow the standings on rivalryontherange.com.
 
TOP RANKED
With a 16-1 overall record, West Texas A&M enters Saturday's matchup with a No. 4 national ranking from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a No. 7 ranking in the Division II Sports Information Directors poll. The Buffs will be the third team ranked inside the top 25 that the Chaps have faced this season, but the first inside the top 10. LCU's previous ranked opponents were Colorado School of Mines (No. 14) and Dallas Baptist (No. 19), with both matchups ending in losses for the Chaps. Lubbock Christian's last win over a ranked opponent was on March 15, 2019, when they beat No. 14 Colorado School of Mines in the NCAA Tournament. Their last win over a top five team was on March 2, 2019, when they took down No. 4 St. Edward's in the Rip Griffin Center.
 
ROAD JOURNAL
Thursday's matchup with West Texas A&M will be LCU's sixth true road game of the season and their sixth away from home overall. LCU is 3-2 in true road games so far this year and 3-3 in games away from the Rip Griffin Center. The Chaps have scored just 64.5 points per game across those four contests while allowing 68.3 points from their opponents. However, they have won three straight games on the road, defeating Cameron in Lawton and Midwestern State in Wichita Falls before the Christmas break along with Thursday's win at ENMU. Lloyd Daniels and Rashaan Proctor are both averaging double-figures on the road with 13.8 and 10.5 points per game, respectively.
 
BEYOND THE ARC
Freshman Ty Caswell would lead the Lone Star Conference and rank second among all Division II players with a three-point field-goal percentage of exactly 50 percent, but he is just under the requirement of 2.5 made per game (at 2.29). The Wichita Falls native has attempted 64 three-pointers so far this season, making 32 of them. As a team, LCU leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 27th nationally, making 38.4 percent of their attempts. They have attempted the seventh-fewest three-pointers in the LSC (328), but still average 9.0 made three-pointers per game.
 
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, 54.6 percent (40.7 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 13.8 points per game and is shooting .544, which is the fifth-best mark in the LSC. Freshman Ty Caswell is also averaging double figures at 10.7 points per game, while Texas Tech transfer Parker Hicks is scoring 10.2 per game and leading the team with 6.4 rebounds per game. Aamer Muhammad and Joshua Davey have also contributed off the bench.
 
CHARITY WORK
LCU is 161-211 (76.3 percent) from the free throw line this season, which is the best mark in the Lone Star Conference and ranks No. 19 among the 303 Division II men's basketball teams. On the road, they have shot slightly better with a .783 mark (36-46) on foul shots. No Chap player has taken enough attempts to factor into the national rankings for free throw percentage (minimum 2.5 per game), but Zach Stepp (2-2, 1.000), Silas Crisler (16-17, .941), Caswell (18-22 .818) and Muhammad (8-10, .800) are all shooting better than 80 percent from the charity stripe this year.
 
HELPING HANDS
Two of LCU's guards, Cameron Copley and Lloyd Daniels, have been some of the best at assisting their fellow teammates through the first 13 games of the 2019-20 season. Copley, who is the Chap leader in assists per game with 5.7 (80 total), ranks second in the LSC in that category behind only August Haas of St. Edward's, who averages. 7.9 per contest. Daniels also trails Haas in the conference statistical category of Assist/Turnover ratio. The Colts Neck, New Jersey native averages a team-second 3.9 assists per game, but only turns the ball over 1.2 times per game for a ratio of 2.9. As a team, the Chaps rank fifth in the league and 42nd nationally with 15.93 assists per game.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS

• West Texas A&M has by far the best offense in the Lone Star Conference, averaging 95.8 points per game. It is almost six points better than the second-place team, St. Edward's, who averages 89.3 points per game
• The Buffs started the season 9-0 before suffering their first loss of the season at then-No. 12 St. Edward's. The Hilltoppers won 100-87 on their home floor
• Sophomore Qua Grant leads WTAMU in scoring with 22.2 points per game, which is the third-best mark in the league
• West Texas A&M has reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight each of the last two seasons. In 2018, they defeated the No. 5 seed Le Moyne College to advance to the Final Four before losing to the No. 1 seed Ferris State
• The Buffs have the best turnover margin in the Lone Star Conference, taking care of the ball themselves and forcing opponents into mistakes. WT only turns the ball over 12.6 times a game while forcing opponents into 22.6 for a margin of 10.0

 
THE SERIES WITH WT
Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M first met way back in 1978, but meetings since have not been all that frequent. In 24 total matchups, WT leads the series 18-6. The Buffs were winners in the first 10 meetings between the two teams before LCU earned a 65-61 victory in 2002. The Chaps won again in 2007 and rattled off three straight wins in 2015 and 2016. LCU won the last meeting between the two teams as well, defeating WT 68-65 in the Rip Griffin Center.