WICHITA FALLS, Texas - In the first Lone Star Conference rematch of the regular season, Lubbock Christian looks to avenge its loss to Midwestern State from earlier in the month, travelling to Wichita Falls to face Midwestern State in a West Division showdown.

Lubbock Christian (12-6, 8-4 LSC) at Midwestern State (9-10, 6-7)
Thursday, Jan. 26 - 7:30 PM
Wichita Falls, Texas - D.L. Ligon Coliseum

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off a 73-69 win over DBU on Saturday, Jan. 21. It was the Chaps' first win over the Patriots since 2018, and first win in the Burg Center since 2016.
- Rowan Mackenzie recorded his third career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Mackenzie has hauled in double-digit rebounds twice this season. The junior is now 82 points away from 1,000 career points
- Russell Harrison scored 20 points against the Patriots, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. Harrison is now 16 points away from 1,000 career points at NCAA schools, and is 71 points away from 2,000 career points overall.
- Midwestern State won three straight games to start 2023, but have now lost three of their last four matchups. Of MSU's 10 losses, six have been by five points or less.

BACK TO SCHOOL
LCU has won two-straight Lone Star Conference regular season championships, and have compiled a 50-14 record in the LSC since joining the conference in 2019. The Chaps are 27-7 in Lone Star Conference road games, including a 10-0 road mark during the 2020-21 season. At the Rip Griffin Center, the Chaps are 23-7 in conference matchups. 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.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
This season, Rowan Mackenzie is leading the Chaps in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game, second in the LSC. That clip would also be tied with Keith Gardener (1978-79) for the fifth highest points per game mark in a season if the regular season ended today. Mackenzie is second in the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 57.7 percent from the field so far this season.
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 has gotten it done on the defensive end as well, earning LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Jan. 3. Against Cameron, Mackenzie had four steals and had a career-high two blocks against the Aggies, holding CU to just 26.7 percent from three as the Chaps scored 22 points off turnovers. His 1.8 steals per game are tied for fourth in the LSC.
After flirting with a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds against UT Tyler, Mackenzie scored 24 points and hauled down 10 boards against DBU for his third career double-double. The junior also had two assists and a block, and shot 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) from the field.

GOTTA MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS
Lubbock Christian has been automatic from the free throw line this season, shooting 78.5 percent from the charity stripe. That mark is the third-best in the Lone Star Conference, and the 11th best in Division-II. If the Chaps were playing Division-I basketball, that mark would also rank 10th in D-I, above schools such as Miami, Duke, Purdue and Texas Tech.
Najeeb Muhammad is shooting 86.8 percent from the free throw line, the seventh best mark in the conference.

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 season-high with eight assists against Le Moyne. Muhammad set a new season-best in assists with nine against Cameron.
Muhammad has also found his stroke of late, scoring a season- 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 against the Hilltoppers.
This season, the Arizona Western College transfer is averaging 10.4 points per game, while his 82 total assists are the fourth-most in the Lone Star Conference. His 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the LSC.

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 15.6 points per game, and 5.0 rebounds per game. He is just 16 points away from 1000 total at NCAA schools. Harrison scored 704 points in two seasons at UL Monroe. For his overall career, Harrison has scored 1,929 points, with 395 points in a season at NAIA Wayland Baptist, and 550 points in one season at JUCO Clarendon. Harrison has scored 280 points this season for the Chaps.

MAKE THEM EARN IT
Opponents have struggled to score against the Chaps this season, averaging 66.2 points per game against Lubbock Christian. That mark is fifth in the conference and 38th in all of Division-II basketball. 
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

BUCKETS
LCU is shooting 47.3 percent from the field, the best mark in the Lone Star Conference and 56th in Division-II. The Chaps shot a blistering 58.3 percent from the field earlier this season against Eastern New Mexico, scoring 50 points against the Greyhounds in the second half of the game alone. Just recently against DBU, Lubbock Christian shot 48.1 percent from the floor, including 47.1 percent from the three-point line. The Chaps are shooting 35.8 percent from deep this season, the second best mark in the Lone Star Conference.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
 - Midwestern State enters the game 9-10 overall and 6-7 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs are 4-3 in the West Division. MSU has lost three of their last four games.
-  Despite scoring 49 points in the second half, MSU dropped a 79-72 game to Oklahoma Christian on Saturday. The Eagles shot 50 percent from the floor and took a 37-23 lead into the halftime break.
- The Mustangs enter the game averaging the second-most rebounds per game in the conference with 37.2. Jermane Carter is second in the LSC and 54th in the country in rebounds per game, pulling down 8.5 boards a night. Carter also has six double-doubles this season, the second most in the conference and 30th most in Division-II.
- Pierre Sanders ranks third in the LSC and 46th in Division-II with 34 total steals. His 1.8 steals per game are third in the conference and 79th in the country.
- Justin Leslie was hired as Midwestern State's 10th head men's basketball coach in program history in April of 2019. He has led the Mustangs to winning ledgers in each of the two seasons earning Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament berths in each of his first three seasons at the helm. MSU continued its trend of making late surges by winning eight of its last 10 games during the regular season in 2021-22. The Mustangs rode the momentum to a 16-15 overall record and the No. 6 seed in the LSC Postseason Tournament advancing to the quarterfinal round.

THE SERIES WITH THE MUSTANGS 
Midwestern State leads the all-time series 17-7, snapping a six game losing streak that dated back to 1979 on Jan. 1, 2023, knocking off the Chaps 71-65. Last season, the Chaps knocked off the Mustangs 66-52 inside the Rip Griffin Center to move to 20-0, the program's best start ever. The Mustangs won 13 straight meetings from Feb. 17, 1973 to Feb. 1, 1979. LCU is 3-9 all-time in Wichita Falls against MSU, winners of three straight. The Chaps upset the no. 1 seeded Mustangs in the first round of the 2016 NCAA South Central Regional with a 79-73 win in the D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

LAST TIME OUT
Jan. 21, 2023 - at DBU - Russell Harrison and Rowan Mackenzie combined for 44 points, as LCU knocked off Dallas Baptist 73-69 on Saturday, Jan. 21.
LCU held Dallas Baptist off the scoreboard for the final 3:46 of the game, going on a 10-0 run. The Chaps went 8-for-10 from the charity stripe during that stretch, while also holding DBU 0-for-6 from the floor and forcing two turnovers.
The win is LCU's first win over Dallas Baptist since Feb. 8, 2018, breaking a six-game losing streak. It is also the first Lubbock Christian win in Dallas over the Patriots since Dec. 17, 2016 and just their third win ever in the Big D over the Pats.
Mackenzie picked up his third career double-double, scoring 24 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. The Aussie went 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) from the field and 2-for-3 (66.7 percent) from three, finishing with 2 assists and one block.
Harrison scored 20 points in the game, his fifth game this season scoring at least that amount. The Lubbock native also hauled in three rebounds and had a steal. Harrison is now just 16 points away from 1,000 points in his career at NCAA schools, and 88 points away from 2,000 career points.

A WIN WOULD
- Be Todd Duncan's 215th win all-time as head coach of the Chaps (214-117)
- Give LCU their third win in a row

UP NEXT
The Chaparrals stay on the road, heading out of state for the first time in over a month to Lawton, Okla. to face Cameron. Tip-off is set for 3 PM on Jan. 28.