LUBBOCK, Texas - Winners of five straight, Lubbock Christian looks to keep the hot streak going, facing UTPB in a rematch from earlier this month at the Rip Griffin Center on Saturday, Feb. 4.

UTPB (11-14, 5-11 LSC) at Lubbock Christian (15-6, 11-4 LSC)
Saturday, Feb. 4 - 3 PM
Lubbock, Texas - Rip Griffin Center

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off a 67-66 upset win over no. 15/19 Angelo State on Thursday. The Chaps forced four turnovers over the final 4:21 of game action to complete the come-from-behind win.
- Mackenzie scored 22 points and had six rebounds against ASU. The junior has scored at least 20 points in four straight games, and is 22 points away from 1,000 in his career.
- Aaron Gonzales scored 11 points and hit three three-pointers against the Rams. He also picked up a career-high four assists in the victory.
- UTPB is coming off a 70-66 loss to West Texas A&M on Thursday. The Falcons outscored the Buffs 32-6 in the paint, and outrebounded WT 36-28. Jalen King added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

FINISH STRONG
LCU has won two-straight Lone Star Conference regular season championships, and have compiled a 53-14 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 24-7 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 20-6 in the month of February.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
This season, Rowan Mackenzie is leading the Chaps in scoring, averaging 20.0 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 57.7 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.
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 978 points so far, just 22 points away.

GOTTA MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS
Lubbock Christian has been automatic from the free throw line this season, shooting 76.6 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.

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 10.1 points per game, while his 92 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 15.2 points per game, and 4.8 rebounds per game. Harrison has now scored 1,024 career points at NCAA schools (ULM and LCU), and is just 31 points away from 2,000 career points.
For his overall career, Harrison has scored 1,969 points, with 395 points in a season at NAIA Wayland Baptist, and 550 points in one season at JUCO Clarendon. Harrison has scored 320 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 47.1 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 36.1 percent from deep this season, the third best mark in the Lone Star Conference.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
 - UTPB enters the game 11-14 overall and 5-11 in the Lone Star Conference. Four of their conference losses have been by five points or less.
-  Azariah Seay leads the Falcons with 16.4 points per game, the fifth-best mark in the Lone Star Conference. Seay is shooting 42.7 percent from the floor, the 10th-best shooting percentage in the LSC.
- As a team, the Falcons have been very consistent from the free throw line, shooting 79.9 percent from the charity stripe. DaJuan Jones is second in the conference in free throw percentage, shooting 92.2 percent, while Seay ranks third in the LSC in the same category, shooting 90.5 percent.
-  Jones leads the conference in assists, handing out 132 so far this season. His 5.3 assists this season also lead the conference.
- 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 11-5, having won four straight and six of the last seven. Earlier this season, LCU shot 15-for-17 from the free throw line against the Falcons in Odessa to ice an 83-74 victory. Kendall Dow scored a career-high 18 points off the bench, while Wegscheider recorded his first double-double as a Chap with 16 points and 14 rebounds. UTPB has lost five straight in Lubbock, their last win at The Rip coming on Feb. 22, 2014.

LAST TIME OUT
Feb. 2, 2023 - vs no. 15/19 Angelo State -LCU forced four turnovers over the final 4:21 of game action and made their last three shots from the field to complete a come-from-behind win over no. 15/19 Angelo State on Thursday, Feb. 2.
With 54 seconds remaining, Najeeb Muhammad drove into the lane and got the friendly roll, and Lubbock Christian went ahead 67-66. Guy missed a three-pointer, but a turnover by Wegscheider on a lose ball gave the Rams possession with five seconds left. Godwin got a look from the elbow, but Mackenzie stuck his arm inside to steal the ball and was fouled. The junior missed both free throws, but Fletcher MacDonald corralled the miss and ran out the clock, and LCU held on for the 67-66 upset victory.
The Chaps forced 18 turnovers, the most for Angelo State in a loss this season. Lubbock Christian scored 26 points off of turnovers.
Mackenzie scored 20+ points for the fourth straight game, scoring 22 points and shooting 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) from the field. The Aussie also hauled in six rebounds and dished out two assists. Mackenzie is now just 22 points away from 1000 in his career. 

A WIN WOULD...
- Be the Chaps sixth straight victory
- Be LCU's fifth straight win over UTPB 

UP NEXT
Lubbock Christian returns to the road, heading west to face Western New Mexico on Thursday, Feb. 9. Tip-off is set for 8:30 PM central time.