LUBBOCK, Texas - After a 12 day break for Christmas, the Chaps close out the 2022 calendar year with a conference clash against the Cameron Aggies on Friday, Dec. 30.

Cameron (2-9, 0-5 LSC) at Lubbock Christian (7-3, 3-1 LSC)
Friday, Dec. 30 - 7:30 PM
Lubbock, Texas - Rip Griffin Center

CAMP DAY
Any campers from the LCU men's basketball camps earlier in the year that wear their camp t-shirt to this weekend's games against Cameron and Midwestern State will get in for free, along with one free ticket for their parent. Limit two tickets total per camper. 

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off 78-64 win over Le Moyne College at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas on Dec. 18.
- Rowan Mackenzie was named Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 20. Mackenzie scored 20 points, dished out five assists and hauled in seven rebounds against Le Moyne. He also had 16 points and had five assists vs no. 4/5 West Liberty
- Kurt Wegscheider scored a season-high 15 points vs Le Moyne. He also pulled down six rebounds.
- Najeeb Muhammad tied his season-high with eight assists vs Le Moyne
- Cameron enters the game 2-9 overall and 0-5 in the LSC, having lost seven straight games. 

BACK TO SCHOOL
For the rest of the regular season, the Chaparrals will play inside the Lone Star Conference. LCU has won two-straight Lone Star Conference regular season championships, and have compiled a 45-11 record in the LSC since joining the conference in 2019. LCU is also 2-2 in overtime conference games since joining the LSC in 2019 after knocking off Oklahoma Christian 70-68 in OT earlier this season. Cameron knocked off LCU last season 89-85 in double overtime.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
This season, Rowan Mackenzie is leading the Chaps in scoring, averaging 19.3 points per game, second in the LSC. The junior scored a career-high 35 points against Colorado School of Mines on Nov. 12, draining seven three-pointers, just three shy of tying the school record of most threes made in a single game. For his impressive play against the Orediggers, Mackenzie earned his first career LSC Offensive Player of the Week Honors on Nov. 14, 2022. 
He earned his second LSC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Dec. 20, 2022, after scoring 20 points, hauling in seven rebounds and dishing out five assists against Le Moyne. Mackenzie also had 16 points and four rebounds against no. 4/5 West Liberty.
Mackenzie leads the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 57.9 percent from the field so far this season. He also leads the team in rebounds with 5.6 per game.

NOBODY BEATS AARON
Moving into the starting lineup this season, 2021-22 LSC All-Freshman Team member Aaron Gonzales has been a sharpshooter for the Chaps, shooting 43.8 percent from three. After averaging 3.5 points per game last season, Gonzales has averaged 10.1 points per game, starting in all 10 contests for Lubbock Christian.
Gonzales scored a career-high 17 points against Arlington Baptist on Nov. 21, draining five shots from beyond the arc. The sophomore flirted with his first career double-double on Dec. 3 against Arkansas Fort Smith, scoring 13 points and pulling down a career-best nine rebounds to lead LCU.
His 2.1 three-pointers a game are the seventh-most in the LSC.

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE
Najeeb Muhammad has been dishing out assists like hot cakes all season long. Muhammad finished with a career-high eight assists on Dec. 10 against Texas A&M International, just two days after handing out six assists against Texas A&M-Kingsville.  He then tied his career-high with eight assists against Le Moyne.
Muhammad has found his stroke of late, scoring a career-high 21 points in LCU's 91-83 win over no. 4/5 West Liberty, going 10-for-10 from the free throw line. That mark ties Kenny Hewitt for the single-game free throw percentage record. Hewitt went 14-for-14 against Mid-America Nazarene on Feb. 7, 2009. Muhammad also dished out six assists and had three steals.
This season, the Arizona Western College transfer is averaging 10.2 points per game, while his 43 total assists are the third-most in the Lone Star Conference. 

WOKE UP FEELING DANGER RUSS
Russell Harrison tied his career-high in points from his lone season at Claredon College (2019-2020) with 33 points on Dec. 3 against Arkansas Fort Smith. Harrison was automatic from beyond the mark, making six three-pointers in the game, including four in a row in the second half. The grad transfer finished the night shooting 52.1 percent from the field. Harrison stuffed the stat sheet in that game, pulling in eight rebounds, had two assists, and blocked one shot while coming away with one steal. 
Harrison is averaging 13.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, after scoring 12 points against Le Moyne, his fifth straight game in double figures.

BUCKETS
Lubbock Christian has found their stroke as of late, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor, the best mark in the Lone Star Conference. Mackenzie leads LCU and the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 57.9 percent from the field so far this season. 
From beyond the arc, the Chaps are also starting to connect, shooting 37.4 percent from three-point land, also the best in the conference. Lubbock Christian's 8.6 made threes a game is fourth in the conference.
LCU has put it together from the charity stripe as of late as well, shooting 77.8 percent from the free throw line, the third best in the LSC and the 19th best mark in Division-II. Muhammad is shooting 90.6 percent from the free throw line this season, including going 10-for-10 against no. 4/5 West Liberty on Dec. 17. That mark is fourth in the LSC and 29th in all of Division-II.

MAKE THEM EARN IT
Opponents have struggled to score against the Chaps this season, averaging just 65.0 points per game against Lubbock Christian. So far this season, five opponents that LCU has faced have scored their lowest point total in a game this season. Oklahoma Christian entered the game against Lubbock Christian with the best scoring offense in the LSC at 81.8 points per game, but the Chap defense held the Eagles to a season-low 68 points. Against Arkansas Fort Smith, the Chaps held the conference's leading scorer Payton Brown (22.1 PPG) to 14 points and just 2-for-9 from three. Against West Liberty, the Hilltoppers scored just 83 points, the first time they have been held to under 90 points all season

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
 - Cameron enters the contest 2-9 and 0-5 in the Lone Star Conference, having lost seven straight games by an average score of 77-68
-  The Aggies last win was on Nov. 19, a 74-71 win over Rogers State. Cameron outscored RSU 46-35 in the second half to erase a 36-28 halftime deficit.
- Cameron has struggled to hold on to the rock this season, averaging 17.7 turnovers per game. That mark is the worst in the Lone Star Conference and in the bottom-five of Division-II.
- Reggie Prudhomme leads the Aggies with 50 assists this season, second-most in the LSC. His 4.5 assists per game are also the second-best mark in the Lone Star Conference.
- Kevin O'Connor was named the Cameron University men's basketball program's 32nd head coach in March of 2022 after a successful stint as the head coach at Murray State College. Murray State went from 10 wins during O'Connor's first year to 25 wins during his third and 21 in 2021-22; both 20-plus win years he was named NJCAA Region II Coach of the Year. In 2019-20, the MSC Aggies finished second in NJCAA Region II play and won the NJCAA region II Tournament Championship for the first time since 1969. 

THE SERIES WITH THE AGGIES
Cameron leads the all-time series 5-4. The Chaps and Aggies met twice last season, with LCU knocking off Cameron 87-60 inside the Rip Griffin Center, before Cameron upset Lubbock Christian 89-85 in double overtime in Lawton. LCU is 3-0 all-time in Hub City against Cameron, winning those games by an average score of 81-68. The Aggies won the first three meetings of the series in 1973, 1979, and 2016, but the Chaps have won four of the last six.

LAST TIME OUT
Dec, 18, 2022 - vs No. 4/5 Le Moyne - Rowan Mackenzie scored 20 points for the fourth time this season, while Kurt Wegscheider added a season-high 15 points, as Lubbock Christian rolled over Le Moyne College 78-64 to finish the weekend 2-0 at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic.
The Chaps shot 93.3 percent from the free throw line, going 14-for-15 from the line, their best free throw percentage this season and their highest free throw percentage in a game since going a perfect 6-for-6 from the line against Western New Mexico on Feb. 24, 2022. Mackenzie led LCU, going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
With the win, LCU now moves to 4-0 all-time at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic. The Chaps have won each game by an average score of 82-70.
Mackenzie scored 20 points, the fourth time this season the junior has scored at least 20 points in a game. The Aussie flirted with a triple-double, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. 
Wegscheider and Gonzales both scored 15 points each, a mark that is a new season-high for Wegscheider. Wegscheider also pulled down six rebounds and handed out three assists. Gonzales went 3-for-6 from deep and pulled in five rebounds. 
Muhammad only scored seven points, but tied his season-high with eight assists. Harrison finished with double-digit points for the fifth straight game, scoring 12 points.

A WIN WOULD
- Be the Chaps' fourth-straight win
- Be LCU's fourth-straight win over Cameron in Lubbock
- Give Todd Duncan his 210th win all-time as head coach of the Chaps

UP NEXT
The Chaps open the new year against conference rival Midwestern State on Sunday, Jan. 1. Tip-off is set for 3:00 PM from the Rip Griffin Center. Fans can purchase tickets at lcuchaps.com.