NO. 25 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (1-0) vs.
NO. 10 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES (0-3)
Friday, Nov. 14 – 7 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
 
TIPOFF
It's been almost two weeks since Lubbock Christian was last on the hardwood, but they return to action at 7 p.m. on Friday against Colorado School of Mines as part of the South Central Region Crossover. They will follow that up with a matchup against Regis at 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Chaparrals had an impressive start to the new season going a perfect 2-0 at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. They beat UVA Wise and Augusta by an average margin of 32.5 points and were one of only two teams to go undefeated at the invitational.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
For their performance in the first two games of the season, a pair of LCU players received numerous accolades. Amondo Miller Jr. and Alex Anamekwe were named the Lone Star Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, sweeping the league's first award week of the season. Both were also named to the HOF Classic All-Tournament Team, along with Antonio Pusateri. Miller Jr. was the Tournament MVP. Miller Jr. averaged 28 points, 8.5 rebounds, two assists and two steals, scoring a career-high 37 points against Augusta. Anamekwe averaged a double-double with 10 rebounds per game and added four blocks and five steals on the weekend. He averaged 16.5 points on 48.1 percent shooting and also dished out four assists. 
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
The Chaps are ranked No. 25 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll, which was released prior to the start of the season. It is the first time they have been ranked in a preseason poll since the 2022-23 season. The first regular season ranking will come out on Tuesday, Nov. 25 after the first two full weekends of play have been completed. Colorado Mines is ranked No. 10 in the same poll, making Friday night's contest a top-10 matchup. Reigning national champion Nova Southeastern leads the national poll. The only Lone Star Conference team besides LCU currently ranked is DBU at No. 3, but St. Mary's and West Texas A&M also received votes in the poll.
 
BOARD GAMES
Lubbock Christian averaged 45.2 rebounds per game while in Florida, out-rebounding their opponents by 10.5 boards a contest. Their plus-14 margin in the win against Augusta was only surpassed twice during the entire 2024-25 season. Pusateri led the team on the glass, pulling down 10.5 per game, with Anamekwe close behind at 10.0 per game. Miller Jr. also cleaned up on the glass, averaging 8.5 rebounds a game.
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS
LCU's two big wins were made possible by how well they shot the ball in the Sunshine State. In 80 minutes on the court, the Chaps shot 56.3 percent from the field, including 46.8 percent from the field. Against Augusta, they shot a whopping 59.4 percent from the field and 64.3 percent from the field. Kendall Dow shot. Scorching 69.2 percent from the field in the two games, including a perfect 5-for-5 against Augusta, and Miller Jr. and Pusateri both shot better than 60 percent as well. Last season, LCU was one of the best shooting teams in the LSC, hitting 46.9 percent of their shots from the field, including 37.5 percent shooting from behind the arc.
 
FRIENDLY FACES
As the Chaps take the floor at home for the first time this season, fans will recognize a few names returning from the 2024-25 squad. Familiar names include Devin Baccas, Reagan Fiedler, Amondo Miller Jr., Kendall Dow and Alex Anamekwe. Miller Jr. had the most impact of any returner last year, starting all 34 games and averaging 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on the way to an All-LSC Honorable Mention selection. Anamekwe saw significant playing time early in the season before an injury in December, while Dow and Fiedler played off the bench. Baccas redshirted during the season. Combined, the returning group played 1498 minutes and scored 609 points last year.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
The remaining eight players on the LCU roster this season are all new, including four freshmen and four transfers. The transfer class includes Leo Nordberg (Longwood), Lucas Mercandino (LaSalle), Ignacio Garcia (NMMI) and Antonio Pusateri (College of S.F.). Freshman on the team are Lee Van der Westhuizen, Jett McCasland, Emerson Juhasz and Adam Varadi. The group is a veritable United Nations, featuring only two Americans along with players from Finland, Argentina, Australia and Hungary.
 
SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS

• Mines opened the 2025-26 season at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic in Billings, Montana, going 0-3 against Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney and Angelo State
• The 2025-26 season will be the 25th for the Orediggers under the guidance of head coach Pryor Orser, who boasts an all-time record of 474-235
• Mines went 29-5 overall last season RMAC on their way to sweeping the league's regular season and tournament titles before advancing to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament
• The Orediggers lost seven players off of last year's squad
• Markus Pastoric-Straun led the team in scoring in the first three games with 24.3 points per contest

 
THE SERIES WITH THE OREDIGGERS
Lubbock Christian and Colorado School of Mines have faced off quite often since the Chaps moved to the NCAA, playing 10 times since the all-time series began in 2015. The series has been almost evenly split, with LCU winning four times against six wins for Mines. Only two of the games have been played in Lubbock, with LCU losing in 2016 and winning in 2021. The Chaps won last year's matchup in Golden 89-78 behind 21 points from Miller Jr.