FRISCO, Texas - For the third straight season, Lubbock Christian will face St. Edward's in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, squaring off in the Quarterfinals on Friday, Mar. 3 at 8:30 PM.

#5-seed Lubbock Christian (18-10, 14-8 LSC) vs #4-seed St. Edward's (21-10, 15-7 LSC) 
Friday, Mar. 3 - 8:30 PM
Frisco, Texas - Comerica Center

AWARDS SEASON
On Wednesday, Mar. 1, the Lone Star Conference announced their men's basketball award winners, with three Chaparrals earning accolades. Rowan Mackenzie led the way with a First Team All-Conference honor, the first of his career, and became the first ever LCU men's basketball player to earn LSC Academic Player of the Year with a 3.80 GPA. Russell Harrison was honored for his stellar play this season with a Second Team All-Conference honor, while Aaron Gonzales was recognized for his success in the classroom, sliding on to the All-Academic Team with a 4.00 GPA.

NEED TO KNOW
- LCU is coming off an 84-77 loss to no. 25 West Texas A&M on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Chaps shot 50 percent from the floor to 47 percent by the Buffs, but WT scored 18 points off of 14 LCU turnovers
- Russell Harrison scored 26 points against the Buffs, including going 10-for-10 from the free throw line, tying the school record for best free throw percentage in a game set by Najeeb Muhammad earlier this season against no. 4/5 West Liberty (10-for-10) and by Kenny Hewitt in 2009 (14-for-14)
- Muhammad scored a season-high 22 points against the Buffs on Saturday. He also shot 3-for-4 from beyond the arc
- Lubbock Christian is 2-3 all-time in the Lone Star Conference Tournament. This will be the third straight meeting in the postseason for the Chaps against the Hilltoppers. The two squads are 1-1 against each other in the postseason

THIS IS MARCH
Since joining the Lone Star Conference, Lubbock Christian has won two LSC regular season championships, but is just 2-3 in the Lone Star Conference Tournament. All three losses have been by five points or less, falling to Angelo State 97-92 in 2OT at the 2020 tournament in the semifinals, falling to St. Edward's in the first round of the 2021 tournament 72-71, and dropping a 72-69 decision last season in the 2022 semifinals after a Jake Majors three-pointer with six seconds left gave Texas A&-Kingsville the upset win. The Chaps are 1-3 in the Comerica Center, their other LSC Tournament win coming inside The Rip on Mar. 3, 2020 against Midwestern State.The Chaps have never won a conference tournament championship at the D-II level, going 4-4 in the Heartland Conference Tournament.

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
This season, Rowan Mackenzie is leading the Chaps in scoring, averaging 19.5 points per game, second in the LSC. Mackenzie is third in the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 55.6 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 1.5 steals per game are fifth 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 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 10.1 points per game, while his 115 total assists are fourth in the Lone Star 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. 
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 16.4 points per game, tied for the sixth best mark in the LSC, and 5.3 rebounds per game. For his overall career, Harrison has scored 2,107 points, with 395 points in a season at NAIA Wayland Baptist, and 550 points in one season at JUCO Clarendon. Harrison has scored 458 points this season for the Chaps.

MAKE THEM EARN IT
Opponents have struggled to score against the Chaps this season, averaging 67.3 points per game against Lubbock Christian. That mark is sixth in the Lone Star Conference.
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 regular season meeting 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 48.1 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. Against DBU, Lubbock Christian shot 48.1 percent from the floor, including 47.1 percent from the three-point line. The Chaps are shooting 36.6 percent from deep this season, the second-best mark in the Lone Star Conference. Rowan Mackenzie is now shooting 42.9 percent from three for his career, the fourth best mark in program history.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
 - St. Edward's enters the contest 21-10 and co-East Division Champions, tying with Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Javelinas earned the two-seed due to sweeping the season series over St. Edward's 
-  The Hilltoppers are shooting 81.6 percent from the free throw line this season, the top mark in the conference and the top mark in all of Division-II. Jeff Gary leads the conference in FT percentage, shooting 93.9 percent from the charity stripe. 
- St. Edward's is the second-highest scoring team in the LSC, averaging 78.1 points per game. Sean Elkinton ranks second in the LSC in field goal percentage, shooting 59.0 percent from the field. 
- Blake Nielsen ranks third in the LSC with 131 total assists, averaging 4.2 assists a game. His 2.4 assist to turnover ratio is the best in the conference.
- Since the 2009-10 season Andre Cook has been at the helm of St. Edward's men's basketball, collecting eight winning seasons in his tenure including a program record 30 wins in 2018-19. The Hilltoppers snagged the Heartland Conference Regular Season title, Heartland Conference Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final while being ranked as high as #2 nationally during the season. Cook was named the 2019 Clarance Gaines Award winner, given by CollegeInsider.com to the Division II National Coach of the Year and NABC District Coach of the Year

THE SERIES WITH THE HILLTOPPERS
LCU leads the overall series with St. Edward's 13-5, having won three straight. The Chaps dominated the contest during the regular season, using a 30-12 run in the final 13:50 of the opening half and shooting 55.2 percent from the floor. LCU also 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. The two teams met in the 2022 LSC Quarterfinals, as Rowan Mackenzie stole an inbounds pass with 1.7 seconds left and found Parker Hicks underneath for the game-winning shot in a 58-56 victory. The two squads met in the 2021 LSC Tournament opening round, with Jake Kafka hitting a three with two seconds remaining to give St. Edward's the 72-71 win.

LAST TIME OUT
Feb. 25, 2023 - vs no. 25 West Texas A&M -  No. 25 West Texas A&M scored 18 points off turnovers and held off a late LCU rally to hand the Chaps their second straight loss on Saturday, Feb. 25
Despite the loss, it is the second straight game that LCU has outshot their opponent from the field, as the Chaps shot 50.0 percent from the field compared to 46.3 percent by the Buffs. In his final regular season game as a Chap, Harrison scored 26 points to lead LCU, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Harrison also pulled down six rebounds and had three steals.
Muhammad had a career day for LCU, scoring a season-high 22 points. The junior shot 3-for-4 from three, and hauled in three boards. Mackenzie finished in double digits for LCU, scoring 17 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
Mackenzie and Muhammad both led the Chaps with 12 points. Mackenzie pulled down six rebounds, while Muhammad had five. Harrison sniffed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Dow scored ten points off the bench, shooting 4-for-4 from the free throw line. 

UP NEXT
Should Lubbock Christian win, they will face the winner of the matchup between #1-seed no. 22 West Texas A&M and #8-seed Eastern New Mexico. That game is set for a 6:00 PM tip-off on Saturday, Mar. 4. If the Chaps lose, they will have to await their postseason fate with the NCAA Division-II selection show on Sunday, Mar. 5 at 10:00 PM central.