DENVER, Colo. - The road to a third straight Lone Star Conference Championship and another NCAA Tournament appearance begins for the Chaps in Denver, facing Regis in the RMAC-LSC Challenge at 8 PM on Friday, Nov. 11.

No. 16/24 Lubbock Christian (0-0) at Regis (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 11 - 8 PM 
Denver, Colo. - Regis Fieldhouse

AN HISTORIC SEASON
The Chaps are coming off another historic season, starting the year 20-0 and climbing to no. 1 in the national rankings on the way to claiming a second straight LSC Regular Season Championship. LCU earned the no. 1 seed in the South Central Region, hosting the first three rounds of the NCAA DII Tournament at the Rip Griffin Center before falling to Colorado Mesa in the second round. The Chaps had six members of the Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team were recognized with Lone Star Conference postseason awards, including Parker Hicks being named the league's Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Joining Hicks on the the All-LSC First Team was teammate Lloyd Daniels. Aamer Muhammad was an All-LSC Second Team selection, Rowan Mackenzie was an All-LSC Honorable Mention pick, and Aaron Gonzales was picked for the All-Freshman Team. Head coach Todd Duncan repeated as the league's Coach of the Year.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
Rowan Mackenzie is the top scorer returning for the Chaps this season. Mackenzie built off a strong freshman campaign, starting in 28 games for the Chaps. He scored 20 points twice in the 2021-22 season, dropping 20 points and shooting 6-for-7 from three against Oklahoma City on Dec. 6, and scoring 20 points against UTPB on Jan. 29. Mackenzie scored a career high 21 points in the opening round of the NCAA South Central Regional against Texas A&M-Commerce, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double with nine and going 10-for-13 from the free throw line. Mackenzie averaged 11.4 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game and dished out 72 assists for the Chaps while also shooting 51.7% from the field. For his play last season, Mackenzie was named a Player to Watch by the Lone Star Conference.

A SPRING IN HIS STEP
Also returning for the Chaps is All-Freshman Team member Aaron Gonzales. Gonzales played in 30 games for the Chaps last season, starting in two of them. He scored a career-high 11 points on Feb. 24 against Western New Mexico, going 3-for-5 from three. Pulled down a season-high seven rebounds on Jan. 20 against St. Edward's. Gonzalez averaged 3.5 points per game and shot 53.3% from the field in his first season in Lubbock

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
A total of nine new players will make their debut for the Chaps this season. Of those nine, three are transfers, led by Louisiana-Monroe transfer Russell Harrison. The Monterrey High product averaged 13.1 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game with the Warhawks last season, including a game on 1/6/2022 when Harrison scored 28 points and pulled down 13 boards against Arkansas State. 
Two junior college transfers join the Chaps, with Najeeb Muhammad coming over from Arizona Western College, while Kurt Wegscheider comes over from Utah State East College.
Muhammad played in 28 games for Arizona Western College, averaging 11.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.1 rebounds a night. He shot 37.6% from the floor, including 35.7% from beyond the arc. Muhammad recorded a season-high 21 points on Nov. 10 against the College of Southern Nevada. He recorded double-digit assists twice this season, dishing out 10 assists against Gateway C.C. on Feb. 9 and recording a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists on Nov. 20 against Eastern Arizona College. Muhammad's 139 total assists ranked third in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.
Wegscheider played in 28 games for Utah State Eastern College, averaging 14.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game. He recorded a double-double on Nov. 19 against Central Wyoming College, scoring a season-high 24 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Wegscheider also tallied 41 steals and 44 assists this season.
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THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST
The Chaparrals finished the 2021--22 season with one of the nation's best defenses. LCU held opponents to an average of 62.5 points per game, which is the seventh-bestt mark in D-II. Opponents shot 39.5 percent from the field against them (seventh-best nationally), including 30.6 percent from behind the arc (23rd-best in D-II). Thirteen times last season, the Chaps held teams below 60 points, winning all thirteen of those matchups.

BULLSEYE
On the other end of the floor, Lubbock Christian did not face the shooting woes that they themselves caused their opponents. The Chaps ranked fifth in the nation in overall field goal percentage (.514) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (.394). LCU shot better than 50 percent from the field in 20 of their 29 games last season and went 17-2 in those contests. The LSC Tournament loss against Texas A&M-Kingsville was the only time last season that the Chaps outshot an opposing team and lost (25-1). 

NATIONALLY KNOWN
The Chaps enter the season ranked no. 16 in the NABC National Polls and no. 24 in the D2SIDA rankings. LCU will play four games against teams that were ranked in both preseason poll, facing no. 12/25 Southern Nazarene on Nov. 19, no. 7/8 West Liberty on Dec. 17 at the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., and back-to-back contests against no. 5/8 West Texas A&M to close out the regular season on Feb. 23 and 25. LCU also has matchups against three teams that were receiving votes in the NABC preseason poll, taking on Colorado School of Mines on Nov. 12 and Dallas Baptist and Angelo State later in the year in conference action. The Chaps had four wins over ranked foes last season 

SCOUTING THE RANGERS
- The Rangers went 20-10 last season, falling the Black Hills State in the RMAC Tournament Championship game 69-66.
- Regis was projected to finish sixth in the RMAC this season. Like the Chaps, the Rangers feature a host of new players to the roster, including Nebraska-Kearney transfer David Simental. Simental averaged 18.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game en route to being named Third Team All-MIAA.
- Regis returns senior Aaron Bokol and freshman Brayden Carter to the squad for the 2022-23 campaign. Bokol played in 28 games and shoot a career-best 39% from 3-point range last season. He finished the year averaging 8.1 points and 3.7 rebounds across 19.7 minutes per contest.
As a freshman, Carter played in all 30 games and averaged 6.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.4 minutes. He led all Rangers with 15 blocks and was third on the team with a .516 field goal percentage.
- Head coach Brady Bergeson enters his eighth season with the Rangers. Bergeson guided the Rangers to five straight postseason appearances before Regis went 6-10 in the shortened 2020-21 season. In 2017-18, he led the Rangers to a 27-6 record, the most wins in a single season, and the RMAC Tournament Championship.

THE SERIES WITH THE RANGERS
The series between Regis and LCU is tied at three games apiece after the Chaps rolled over the Rangers in the 2021-22 season opener in Lubbock 83-56. The Chaps held Regis to just 33 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three. Lubbock Christian hit five of their first nine shots and took a 10-point lead before the first media timeout. The two teams have met in four different cities in Colorado and Texas, the last meeting in Denver coming on Nov. 11, 2017, an 89-74 win for Regis. 

LAST TIME OUT
LUBBOCK, Texas (March 13, 2022) – The season certainly didn't end the way they wanted it to, but the Lubbock Christian University men's basketball team fought all the way until the end, coming up just short in a 63-62 loss against Colorado Mesa on Sunday at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
Lubbock Christian's 2021-22 season comes to an end with a number of records and program firsts set throughout the year. The Chaps started the season 20-0, setting the school mark for best start, and they went on to win 27 games which is also a new program record. LCU also spent the majority of the season in the top-10 nationally, including two months at No. 1, which was a program first. Seniors Parker Hicks and Lloyd Daniels were All-Conference First Team selections and led the Chaps to a second-straight LSC regular season championship.
 
Struggling offensively all night, the Chaps were down by their largest margin – 12 points – with just 8:25 left in the game. Hicks made a three on the other end and it sparked the LCU offense to a quick 8-0 run. They kept pushing, getting more defensive stops and eventually tying the game on a three-pointer by Jalen Brattain with the shot clock about to expire with 3:50 left in the game.
 
Lubbock Christian even took a lead and was still ahead by one with less than a minute to go when CMU's Trevor Baskin made a layup to put his team on top. The Chaps missed on the other end, and LCU was forced to foul to stop the clock. After the free throws, LCU got the ball down the floor and Rowan Mackenzie was fouled shooting a three, giving them one final chance to send the game to overtime. A miss on the middle attempt allowed Colorado Mesa to leave victorious.
 
Four Chaparral players finished in double-figures despite a rough shooting night. Hicks led all scorers with 21 points in his final game for LCU, despite not being on the floor for the final eight minutes of the first half due to getting two quick fouls called on him. Brattain had a strong night, scoring 14 and grabbing seven rebounds. Mackenzie finished with 11 and Aamer Muhammad had 10 points

A WIN WOULD
- Give the Chaps a win in the season opener for the third straight season.
- Be the 18th straight regular season nonconference victory for LCU (last loss - Nov. 9, 2019 - 47-75 at no. 14 Colorado School of Mines)
 
UP NEXT
The Chaps will stay in Denver to face RV Colorado School of Mines on the final day of the RMAC-LSC Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 12. Tip-off is set for 5 PM from Regis Fieldhouse.