NO. 1 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (-0)
vs. HAWAII-HILO (4-0)
Saturday, November 24 – 3 PM HST / 7 PM CT
The Shark Tank (Honolulu, Hawaii)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
 
WHEELS UP
Lubbock Christian University's men's basketball team is taking its first trip of the 2021-22 season and it is a long one, as they travel 3,493 miles away from Lubbock to Honolulu, Hawaii. The Chaps will play three games in the Aloha State, taking on Hawaii-Hilo on Wednesday and Hawaii Pacific on Thursday as part of the Malika Sports Thanksgiving Classic. Both games will be played at The Shark Tank, which is the home court of Hawaii Pacific. Then on Saturday, LCU will take on Chaminade at their home, McCabe Gym. All three opponents compete at the NCAA Division II level.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
For the first time in program history, the Chaparral basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the nation. The National Association of Basketball Coaches have LCU slotted at No. 1 in their first regular season poll of 2021-22, which is up eight spots from their No. 9 ranking in the preseason poll. They drew 386 points in the NABC poll, just three points ahead of No. 2 Truman State. LCU had previously been ranked as high as No. 2 during the 2020-21 season. The highest the program was ever ranked in the NAIA was No. 4 from Jan. 20-27, 2004.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
On Monday, a Chaparral player was recognized with one of the Lone Star Conference weekly awards for the first time this season, as senior forward Parker Hicks was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week. He was a force on the glass, averaging double-digit rebounds while also leading the team in scoring in a pair of LCU wins. In Thursday's upset of No. 1 West Texas A&M, he matched his career-high with 15 boards, including 12 on the defensive glass, and blocked two Buff shots in a seven-point victory. Hicks helped anchor a defense that held WT to just 32.4 percent shooting from the floor. The senior fell one rebound short of a second double-double in Saturday's 92-74 win over Arlington Baptist. He also added a pair of steals during the week.
 
FREEBIES
Although their 61 attempts from the free throw line are the sixth-fewest in the Lone Star Conference, LCU has been incredibly efficient at the charity stripe though, leading the LSC and all of NCAA Division II in free throw percentage with a mark of 91.8 percent. Out of the 61 attempts by the Chaps, only five have missed. Both Jalen Brattain (4-4) and Rowan Mackenzie (8-8) have yet to miss this season, and Aamer Muhammad is shooting 94.7 percent from the line while leading the team with 19 attempts.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
The two other categories in which Lubbock Christian ranks in the top five nationally both have to do with their ability to take care of the basketball. The Chaps rank fifth in D-II in both fewest turnovers per game (8.2) and assist to turnover ratio (2.00). LCU has turned the ball over just 33 times this year and is allowing only 7.5 points off turnovers per game from their opponents. The have racked up exactly double the amount of assists, with Lloyd Daniels leading the team with 19, or 4.75 per game. Mackenzie (12) and Muhammad (10) are the other two Chaps in double-digits in assists.
 
AWAY FROM HOME
This is LCU's first foray away from the Rip Griffin Center this season, where they played their first four games. During the 2020-21 season, the Chaps were 10-0 in true road games. They averaged 82.9 points per game on 53.4 percent shooting while holding their opponents to 70.8 points per game. The Shark Tank was originally the gym used by Saint Francis School, but after its closure, the gym was converted into an athletic complex for use by Hawaii Pacific.
 
MILESTONES
A number of career marks could be hit during the 2021-22 season for the Lubbock Christian Men's basketball program. A pair of Chaps – Daniels and Hicks – are both closing in on the 1,000-point mark for their LCU careers. Daniels currently sits at 834 points, while Hicks has 852 points as a Chap. Another number to keep an eye on is point guard Cameron Copley's assist total. The Canadian native has 406 in his 3+ years at LCU, which is the fourth-most in a career in LCU program history. He needs 105 more to surpass Aric Garrett (520, 1997-2001) and set the school record.
 
SCOUTING THE VULCANS

• Hawaii-Hilo is a member of the Pacific West Conference and was picked to finish fifth out of the 11 teams in the league's preseason poll
• Freshman Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones leads the Vulcan offense, averaging 18.5 points per game on 55.8 percent shooting. He does most of his work from inside the arc and is only 1-for-7 on three-point attempts
• The Vulcans are 4-0 to start the season, including an 87-79 overtime win over Northern Colorado on Nov. 13
• Kaniela Aiona is in his second season as the head coach of the Hawaii-Hilo program after previously spending five years at Menlo College
• Daren Williams averages 5.5 assists per game, which ranks 31^st among all NCAA D-II players