LAREDO, Texas - The Chaparrals head back on the road for the first time in almost a month, heading to Laredo to face Texas A&M International in their first conference road game of the season.

Lubbock Christian (4-2, 2-0 LSC) at Texas A&M International (5-3, 0-2 LSC)
Thursday, Dec. 8 - 8 PM
Laredo, Texas - Texas A&M International Kinesiology and Convocation Building

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off a 73-56 win over Arkansas Fort Smith. Russell Harrison tied his career-high with 33 points and drained six three-pointers. He also hauled in eight rebounds.
- Aaron Gonzales flirted with his first career double-double, scoring 13 points and pulling down nine rebounds, a new career-high.
- Rowan Mackenzie stuffed the stat sheet against the Lions, scoring seven points, picking up eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.
- Texas A&M International enters the game 5-3 overall, but is 0-2 in Lone Star Conference play and have lost three straight after starting the season 5-0. The Dust Devils did defeat no. 15 Colorado Mesa 73-62 on Nov. 19.

ROAD WARRIORS
Lubbock Christian will head on the road for their first two away conference games of the season. LCU has won two-straight Lone Star Conference regular season championships, and have compiled a 44-10 record in the LSC since joining the conference in 2019. The Chaps are 23-5 in Lone Star Conference road games, including a 10-0 road mark during the 2020-21 season. The last LSC road loss for LCU came on Feb. 12, 2022, an 89-85 loss to Cameron in double overtime.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
This season, Rowan Mackenzie is leading the Chaps in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game, fourth 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. 
Mackenzie has also been a force defensively, setting a career-high in steals in back-to-back games, picking up four steals against Colorado Mines and five steals against Southern Nazarene. 
Mackenzie scored 30 points for the second time this season against Oklahoma Christian, going 9-for-9 from the free throw line and 3-for-5 from three-point land. The junior also hauled in four rebounds and handed out four assists.

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 46.2 percent from three. After averaging 3.5 points per game this season, Gonzales has averaged 9.8 points per game, starting in all six 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.

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.

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 scored just six points against Oklahoma Christian, he hit the biggest shot of the night, knocking down a buzzer-beating layup with 0.2 seconds left in OT to give LCU the 70-68 win over the Eagles. He also hauled down nine rebounds, a season-high for the grad transfer from UL-Monroe.

SLOW STARTS, BIG FINISHES
Lubbock Christian has made a habit of starting slow but finishing the second half of games strong. Against UAFS, the Chaps shot 40.7 percent in the first half from the field and 18.8 from three. In the second stanza, LCU opened the final 20 minutes of the game making six straight threes on an 18-2 run. The Chaps shot 51.2 percent in the second half against the Lions and 44.4 percent from three.
Against Oklahoma Christian, LCU opened a game shooting less than 15 percent from the floor, shooting just 1-for-9 (11 percent) in the first 8:03 of the game and going down 19-6 against the Eagles. Lubbock Christian finished the second half of that game on a 17-6 run, shooting 45 percent from the floor and 41.6 percent from beyond the arc in the both the second half and overtime period of the game.
After an abysmal opening half against Southern Nazarene where the Chaps shot 25 percent from the floor and 12.5 percent from three, LCU has found the offense, ending that game against the Crimson Storm on a 31-9 run over the final 9:39 of the game and shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in the second half. 

MAKE THEM EARN IT
Opponents have struggled to score against the Chaps this season, averaging just 60.2 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, with Regis scoring 59 points, Colorado School of Mines scoring 69 points, Southern Nazarene scoring 66 points, and Arlington Baptist scoring just 43 points. 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. The mark is the best scoring defense in the Lone Star Conference and 17th best in Division-II.

SCOUTING THE DUST DEVILS
- Texas A&M International enters the game 5-3 overall, but is 0-2 in Lone Star Conference play and have lost three straight after starting the season 5-0. The Dust Devils did defeat no. 15 Colorado Mesa 73-62 on Nov. 19.
- The Dust Devils have the third best scoring defense in the Lone Star Conference and 27th best in Division-II, as opponents are scoring just 63.7 points per game. TAMI does have the second-to-last offense in the Lone Star Conference, scoring just 67.9 points per game. They are also last in the LSC in rebounds per game, pulling down just 28.6 rebounds per game.
- Tiras Morton earned LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 21. Morton is fourth in the conference with 11 blocks this season, and is averaging 1.38 blocks per game.
- Jermaine Drewey leads the Dust Devils in scoring, averaging 9.0 points per game. Against Chadron State on Nov. 11, Drewey had nine points, four rebounds and three blocks in the win over the Eagles
- Rodney "Mac" McConnell was introduced as the seventh Head Men's Basketball Coach in March 2020. In 2021-22 McConnell led TAMIU to one of its best seasons in recent years, finishing the season 13-14 the most wins in a season since 2016. TAMIU started the season with a program record setting 6-0 start, as well as the best overall start at 10-2. Two players earned All-LSC accolades on the year, and the Dust Devils ended up ranked in the South-Central Region Poll for the first time since 2016, reaching as high as fourth.

THE SERIES WITH THE DUST DEVILS
LCU leads the overall series 11-5 and has won five straight meetings. All five of those meetings have been in Lubbock, and the Chaps are just 2-4 all-time in Laredo, having lost four straight road meetings. The last time Lubbock Christian defeated the Dust Devils on the road was a 74-67 win on Feb. 28, 2015

LAST TIME OUT
Dec, 3, 2022 - vs Arkansas Fort Smith - Lubbock Christian opened the second half on an 18-2 run and never looked back, rolling to a 73-56 win over Arkansas Fort Smith on Saturday, Dec. 3.

In the second half of the game, LCU shot 51.7 percent from the field compared to 40.7 percent in the first half. The Chaps were blistering from three-point range in the second half, shooting 44.4 percent in the final 20 minutes of the contest compared to just 18.8 percent from beyond the arc in the opening salvo.

Harrison scored 33 points, tying his overall career-high from his lone season at Claredon College (2019-20). The Lubbock native shot a blistering 52.4 percent from the field, going 11-for-21 and connecting on six three-pointers, shooting 6-for-14 from beyond the arc. Harrison flirted with his first double-double of the year, hauling in eight rebounds. He also dished out a pair of assists, blocked one shot and pilfered the pocket of one unlucky Lion for a steal.

A WIN WOULD
- Give LCU their fourth straight win
- Be the first win for LCU in Laredo since Feb. 28, 2015
- Give the Chaps their 45th conference win all-time as members of the Lone Star Conference (44-10 since 2019-20)

UP NEXT
Lubbock Christian stays on the road, heading over to Kingsville to face the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas. Tip-off is set for Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3 PM.