LUBBOCK, Texas - Lubbock Christian returns home for the first time in over two weeks, kicking off the final month of the regular season against no. 15/19 Angelo State on Thursday, Feb. 2.

No. 15/19 Angelo State (18-3) (14-1 LSC) at Lubbock Christian (14-6) (10-4 LSC) 
Thursday, Feb. 2 - 7:30 PM
Lubbock, Texas - Rip Griffin Center

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off a 77-74 overtime win against Cameron on Saturday. Rowan Mackenzie and Najeeb Muhammad made a pair of three-pointers in the extra period to pull away
- Mackenzie scored 22 points and had three rebounds against Cameron. The junior has scored at least 20 points in three straight games.
- Muhammad scored just four points against Cameron, but pulled down 10 rebounds in the win. It is the first time this season he has recorded double digit rebounds in a game.
- Angelo State has won nine games in a row and are ranked no. 15/19 in the national polls. LCU is 1-1 against top 25 teams this season, defeating no. 4/5 West Liberty on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas 91-83, and falling to no. 12 Southern Nazarene 66-57 on Nov. 19. LCU also dropped a 69-66 game to RV Colorado Mines on Nov. 12

FINISH STRONG
LCU has won two-straight Lone Star Conference regular season championships, and have compiled a 52-14 record in the LSC since joining the conference in 2019. The Chaps are 29-7 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 3-2 in overtime conference games since joining the LSC in 2019 after knocking off Oklahoma Christian 70-68 and Cameron 77-74 in OT this season. The Chaps have finished the regular season strong the past three seasons in the LSC, going 19-6 in the month of February.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
This season, Rowan Mackenzie is leading the Chaps in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game, first in the LSC. That clip would pass Kenny Hewitt (2008-09) for the third 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 57.2 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.
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. Against Midwestern State, Mackenzie had his second straight double-double, scoring 26 points and hauling down a career best 11 rebounds. The junior also had six assists and two blocks.
Mackenzie is closing in on 1,000 career points, having scored 956 points so far, just 44 points away.

GOTTA MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS
Lubbock Christian has been automatic from the free throw line this season, shooting 77.7 percent from the charity stripe. That mark is the third-best in the Lone Star Conference, and the 17th best in Division-II. If the Chaps were playing Division-I basketball, that mark would also rank 12th in D-I, above schools such as Miami, Duke, Purdue and Texas Tech.
Najeeb Muhammad is shooting 83.3 percent from the free throw line, tied for ninth 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 ound 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. While Muhammad had just four points for the Chaps against Cameron, three of those came in overtime to put LCU up by four with under a minute remaining. He also pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds. 
This season, the Arizona Western College transfer is averaging 10.5 points per game, while his 88 total assists are third in the Lone Star Conference. His 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio is tied for the best mark in the 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 157  points per game, and 4.9 rebounds per game. Russell Harrison scored 17 points against the Mustangs, knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. Harrison has now scored 1,018 career points at NCAA schools (ULM and LCU), and is just 37 points away from 2,000 career points.
For his overall career, Harrison has scored 1,963 points, with 395 points in a season at NAIA Wayland Baptist, and 550 points in one season at JUCO Clarendon. Harrison has scored 314 points this season for the Chaps.

MAKE THEM EARN IT
Opponents have struggled to score against the Chaps this season, averaging 66.3 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 47.0 percent from the field, the best mark in the Lone Star Conference. 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 36.0 percent from deep this season, the third best mark in the Lone Star Conference.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
 - Angelo State has won nine games in a row and is on top of the LSC West Division after a Kevon Godwin buzzer beater gave them the 78-77 win over Western New Mexico on Saturday.
-  Godwin has won the LSC Offensive Player of the Week Award two weeks in a row, and is third in the conference in points per game with 17.6. He leads the conference in three-point percentage, shooting 41.9 percent from beyond the arc.
-Steve Webb ranks third in the conference with 39 steals. His 1.9 steals per game ranks second in the LSC.
- The Rams boast the third-highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 76.1 points per game. ASU has also been lights out on the defensive end, forcing an average of 15.2 turnovers a game and holding their opponents to 42.1 percent from the field, tied for second-best in the league.
- - Vinay Patel enters his first season at the helm of the Ram Basketball after his hiring to the position was announced on April 29th, 2022. Patel brings 17 years of coaching experience to ASU, most recently serving as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where he led the Rangers to a 20-9 overall record and one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA Division II in the 2021-22 season. 

THE SERIES WITH THE RAMS
Angelo State leads the series 18-6 all-time, with their 77-65 win on Jan. 7 in San Angelo ending a three-game winning streak for the Chaps. ASU is 8-2 all-time in Lubbock against LCU, but the last four meetings have all been decided by six points or less.

LAST TIME OUT
Jan. 28, 2023 - at Cameron - Lubbock Christian used big three-point shooting and defense down the stretch to survive a 77-74 scare in overtime against Cameron on Saturday, Jan. 28.
With 1:24 remaining in overtime, Mackenzie drained a step-back three to give LCU a 71-68 lead. After two more free throws by the Aggies, Najeeb Muhammad scored his first points of the game with a three of his own, and Lubbock Christian went ahead 74-70 with 21 seconds left in overtime.
Mackenzie finished with 22 points and three rebounds, along with a steal. It's the third straight game that the junior has scored at least 20 points. Muhammad finished with just four points, but pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds and dished out five assists. Harrison finished with 17 points and three rebounds. Gonzales also finished in double figures, scoring 13 points and hauling in five boards.7-for-9 (77.7 percent) from the field.

A WIN WOULD
- Give LCU their second win of the season over a ranked team
- Be the fifth straight win for the Chaps

UP NEXT
Lubbock Christian stays at home, facing rival UTPB in a LSC West Division rematch on Saturday, Feb. 4. Tip-off is set for 3 PM. Tickets are available at lcuchaps.com.