ODESSA, Texas - After dropping their first home game of the season on Sunday, the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals look to start a new winning streak, heading on the road for the first time in 2023 to face the UTPB Falcons on Thursday, Jan. 5.

Lubbock Christian (8-4, 4-2 LSC) at UTPB (8-7, 2-4 LSC)
Thursday, Jan. 5 - 7:30 PM
Odessa, Texas - Falcon Dome

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off a 71-65 loss to Midwestern State. The Chaps were held to just 1-of-8 from the field in the final six minutes of the game.
- Kurt Wegscheider hauled in ten rebounds against the Mustangs, the first Chap to record double-digit boards this season. He also scored nine points, flirting with a double-double.
- For the second straight game, Russell Harrison scored at least 20 points, scoring 21 against MSU. The Lubbock native also pulled in six rebounds, blocked one shot and picked up a steal
- Rowan Mackenzie earned his first career LSC Defensive Player of the Week Award on Jan. 3, after scoring 18.0 PPG with two blocks and six steals in two games
- UTPB enters the game 8-7 overall and 2-4 in the LSC after dropping a 69-68 thriller to Western New Mexico

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 46-12 record in the LSC since joining the conference in 2019. The Chaps are 24-6 in Lone Star Conference road games, including a 10-0 road mark during the 2020-21 season. 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 19.1 points per game, second in the LSC. Mackenzie is second in the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 56.9 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. The Aussie scored 28 points, shooting 75 percent from the floor and going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

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 42.4 percent from three. After averaging 3.5 points per game last season, Gonzales has averaged 10.5 points per game, starting in all 12 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 2.3 three-pointers a game are tied for the sixth-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 season-high with eight assists against Le Moyne. Muhammad set a new season-best in assists with nine against Cameron.
Muhammad has also ound 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 against the Hilltoppers.
This season, the Arizona Western College transfer is averaging 9.6 points per game, while his 57 total assists are the second-most in the Lone Star Conference and 39th in Division-II.

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 15.7 points per game, eighth-most in the LSC, and 5.1 rebounds per game. Harrison scored 21 points and hauled in sixth rebounds vs Midwestern State, his seventh straight game with double-digit scoring numbers and his second-straight 20+ point scoring output after scoring 28 points against Cameron earlier in the week.

BUCKETS
LCU is shooting the ball well, averaging a 47.7 field goal percentage, the highest mark in the Lone Star Conference. Mackenzie is second in the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 56.9 percent from the field so far this season.
From three-point land, the Chaps are averaging a conference-best 36.6 percent from deep, with 9.4 makes a game. Harrison leads the team with 30 makes from long range, and his 36.6 percent clip from downtown leads the conference.
Finally, the Chaps have connected from the charity stripe, shooting 77.9 percent from the free throw line. That mark is third in the conference and 17th in Division-II.

MAKE THEM EARN IT
Opponents have struggled to score against the Chaps this season, averaging just 65.2 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. 
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 FALCONS
 - UTPB enters the contest 8-7 overall and 2-4 in conference play after dropping a 69-68 thriller to Western New Mexico on Sunday. The Falcons rallied back from a six-point deficit, but a shot by DaJuan Jones at the buzzer was blocked to give the Mustangs the win
-  UTPB has taken advantage of scoring opportunities, shooting 82 percent from the free-throw line, the highest mark in the Lone Star Conference and the fourth-best mark in Division-II. The Falcons have gotten to the line often, averaging 24.5 free throw attempts a game, making on average 20.1 of those shots from the charity stripe, the second-best mark in all of Division-II.
- Jones leads the conference and is 12th in the country in assists with 76 this season. His 5.1 assists per game also leads the LSC, and is the 25th best average in Division-II. Jones is also second in the conference and 13th in the country in free throw percentage, shooting 92.9 percent from the line. Jones has also been a force defensively, as his 29 steals rank second in the conference and 19th in Division-II.
- Azariah Seay ranks fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game. Seay has also been consistent from the free throw line, as his 92.5 free throw percentage is third in the conference and 17th in Division-II.
- Kyle Tolin enters his second year on the bench at UT Permian Basin.  Prior to UTPB, Tolin spent the last seven seasons at the University of Arkansas - Monticello in which he reached the NCAA Tournament twice, won a pair of regular season conference championships, and had 108 victories.

THE SERIES WITH THE FALCONS
LCU leads the all-time series 10-5, having won three straight and five of the last six. Last season in Odessa, LCU went on a 13-6 run to end the game for an 80-73 win. The Chaps have struggled in the Falcon Dome, going just 3-4 all-time at the home of the Falcons, but LCU has won two straight road meetings against UTPB.

LAST TIME OUT
Jan. 1, 2023 - vs Midwestern State - Midwestern State shot almost 60 percent from the field in the second half and 53 percent from three for the game from three, running past Lubbock Christian 71-65 on Sunday, Jan. 1.
The win is the first for Midwestern State over LCU since Feb. 1, 1979. Since the rivalry renewed in 2016, Lubbock Christian had won six games in a row. It is the Mustangs first ever win at the Rip Griffin Center and their first in Lubbock since Jan. 18, 1979.
In the second half, the Mustangs shot 59.3 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three. For the game, MSU shot 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from three, the most an LCU opponent has shot from beyond the arc this season and the highest three-point percentage for a Chaparral opponent since DBU shot 54.5 percent (12-22) on Feb. 5, 2022, a 75-73 win for the Chaps.
Chaps.

A WIN WOULD
- Be the Chaps first win of 2023
- Be LCU's third straight win over UTPB, and third straight win at the Falcon Dome

UP NEXT
The Chaps stay on the road, heading to San Angelo to face Angelo State on Saturday, Jan. 7. Tip-off is set for 3 PM.