LUBBOCK, Texas - Lubbock Christian looks to win their seventh straight over St. Mary's, facing the Rattlers on Homecoming inside the Rip Griffin Center on Saturday, Feb. 18.

St. Mary's (14-10, 11-8 LSC) at Lubbock Christian (17-8, 13-6 LSC) 
Saturday, Feb. 18 - 3:00 PM
Lubbock, Texas - Rip Griffin Center

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off an 82-57 win over St. Edward's on Thursday, Feb. 17. LCU scored 50 points in the first half, the fourth time this season the Chaps scored at least that many in a half this season. For the game, the Chaparrals shot 55.2 percent from the field, their fourth-highest mark of the season.
- Kurt Wegscheider played his most complete game of the season, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
- Vito Vujovic scored a career-high nine points, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
- On defense, Lubbock Christian held St. Edward's to 36.7 percent from the field, and only allowed the Hilltoppers to reach the charity stripe four times in the game. 

FINISH STRONG
LCU has won two-straight Lone Star Conference regular season championships, and have compiled a 55-15 record in the LSC since joining the conference in 2019. The Chaps are 29-9 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 26-7 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 22-8 in the month of February.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
This season, Rowan Mackenzie is leading the Chaps in scoring, averaging 19.8 points per game, second in the LSC. That clip would pass Kevin Hewitt (2008-09) for the third highest points per game mark in a season if the regular season ended today. Mackenzie is third in the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 56.6 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 1.6 steals per game are tied for fourth 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 scored 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 9.3 points per game, while his 108 total assists are third in the Lone Star Conference. His 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio is tied for the the fifth-best mark 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. 
On Saturday, Feb. 4, Harrison flirted with a double-double, scoring 27 points and hauling down nine rebounds against UTPB. The Lubbock native shot 5-for-7 from three in the win over the Falcons. 
Harrison is averaging 16.0 points per game, and 5.0 rebounds per game. For his overall career, Harrison has scored 2,050 points, with 395 points in a season at NAIA Wayland Baptist, and 550 points in one season at JUCO Clarendon. Harrison has scored 401 points this season for the Chaps.

MAKE THEM EARN IT
Opponents have struggled to score against the Chaps this season, averaging 66.5 points per game against Lubbock Christian. That mark is sixth in the conference and 44th 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
St. Edward's entered the contest on Thursday with the highest free throw percentage in the conference at 81.2 percent. While the Hilltoppers shot 75 percent from the line in the game, they only attempted four free throws for the entire contest (3-for-4)

BUCKETS
LCU is shooting 47.8 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. Against DBU, Lubbock Christian shot 48.1 percent from the floor, including 47.1 percent from the three-point line. The Chaps are shooting 36.9 percent from deep this season, the second-best mark in the Lone Star Conference.

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
 - St. Mary's enters the contest 14-10 overall and 11-8 in the Lone Star Conference after an 85-67 loss to West Texas A&M on Thursday.
-  Emmanuel Ewuzie recorded three blocks against the Buffs, giving him over 100 blocks for his career. His 102 swats are 10 away from the all-time mark of 112 by Kevin Kotzur (2010-13). Ewuzie leads the conference with 2.0 blocks per game.
- St. Mary's has the second best scoring defense in the Lone Star Conference, allowing just 65.5 points per game. However, the Rattlers have allowed 80+ points in two of their last four games.
-  Jalon Johnson is fifth in the conference averaging 3.9 assists per game. His 90 assists are fifth in the conference.
- Now the longest tenured employee in the St. Mary's athletic department, Jim Zeleznak has been a part of some of the biggest moments in athletics history, including the 1989 NAIA National Championship as an assistant coach for men's basketball and the 1986 NAIA National Championship as the head coach for softball. In his 17 years, Zeleznak has accumulated 249 wins, needing 31 to move into second past Ed Messbarger (279-139; 1963-78). The Rattlers earned four-straight national tournament appearances – including their first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 bid in 2013 – and they cut down the nets following Heartland Conference Tournament championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015.

THE SERIES WITH THE RATTLERS
LCU leads the overall series with St. Mary's 9-2, having won six in a row by an average score of 76-64. The two teams have not played each other in over three years, the last meeting coming on Jan. 23, 2020 in Lubbock, the Chaps winning 87-82. Despite 21 points from Parker Hicks, Kobe Magee of St. Mary's led all scorers with 32 points. LCU is 6-0 all-time against the Rattlers inside of the Rip Griffin Center. The Rattlers last knocked off the Chaps on Dec. 31, 2016, a 70-55 St. Mary's win in San Antonio.

LAST TIME OUT
Feb. 16, 2023 - vs St. Edward's - A 30-12 run in the final 13:50 of the opening half helped Lubbock Christian pull away as the Chaps rolled over St. Edward's 82-57 on Thursday, Feb. 16
LCU scored 50 points in the first half, the fourth time this season the Chaps scored at least that many in a half this season. For the game, the Chaparrals shot 55.2 percent from the field, their fourth-highest mark of the season. On defense, Lubbock Christian held St. Edward's to 36.7 percent from the field, and only allowed the Hilltoppers to reach the charity stripe four times in the game. 
Mackenzie led the Chaps with 20 points, shooting 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from three. The Aussie also had four rebounds and three assists. Harrison scored 16 points, hauling in a trio of boards.
Muhammad and Gonzales both flirted with double-doubles, with Muhammad scoring 11 points and pulling down nine rebounds, while also finishing with four steals. Gonzales scored nine points and had seven rebounds while also dishing out three assists. 
Wegscheider played his most complete game of the season, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Vujovic scored a career-high nine points, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

UP NEXT
Lubbock Christian closes out the season with a pair of meetings against RV West Texas A&M. The first matchup is set for 7:30 PM on Thursday, Feb. 23 in Canyon.