NO. 7 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (9-2, 3-1)
vs. CENTERAL MISSOURI (10-3, 2-1)
Wednesday, December 17 – 11 a.m.
Bill Greehey Arena (San Antonio, Texas)
 
TIPOFF
After losing back-to-back games, Lubbock Christian University will look to right the ship as they take on Central Missouri University at 11 a.m. at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio in their second and final game at the River City Holiday Classic. LCU only lost back-to-back games once last season – their last two games of the year. The Chaps have not lost three straight games in a season since Nov. 30, 2017, when they faced three straight ranked opponents and fell in all three matchups.
 
FIVE THINGS TO FOCUS ON
1 | After back-to-back losses, Lubbock Christian dropped slightly in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top-25 poll. They still remain in the top 10 at No. 7. Tuesday's opponent, Washburn, actually moved up a spot in this week's poll and is now No. 1 in the nation.
2 | The chaps turned the ball over a season-high 17 times on Tuesday against the Ichabods, which was their most in a single-game since Jan. 27, 2024, when they had 21 in a loss to DBU. LCU is still averaging just 11.2 turnovers per game, which ranks fourth in the conference, and their assist to turnover ratio of 1.50 is second-best in the league.
3 | Junior forward Lucas Mercandino had a career-high seven assists in Tuesday's game and now leads the team in that category with 38 on the year. As a team, LCU averaged 16.7 assists per game, which ranks third in the LSC. Kendall Dow is close behind Mercandino with 37, and Amondo Miller Jr. has 34.
4 | Junior forward Antonio Pusateri had a career-high 22 points against the Ichabods, scoring on an extremely efficient 11-of-15 (.733) shooting. The San Francisco native ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage (.590) and is averaging 14.3 points per game. Pusateri also leads the league in rebounding with 9.8 boards per contest.
5 | Lubbock Christian ranks in the bottom half of the LSC in free throw percentage, shooting just 69.3 percent from the charity stripe this season. They have shot better than 70 percent in only four games this season, and better than 80 percent only once (Nov. 14 vs. Colorado School of Mines). They were 6-of-10 from the line in Tuesday's loss.
 
SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS
- Central Missouri has lost three games so far this season, but did take No. 2 Washburn to double-overtime on Saturday
- Lazerek Houston leads the offense, averaging 19.7 points and 4.8 assists per game
- Adam Bohac is in his third season leading the Muleriders after previously serving as the head coach at Southern Nazarene for 15 seasons
- CMU has a strong offense, shooting 48 percent from the field and averaging more than 80 points per game
- The Muleriders and Chaps have one common opponent – Colorado School of Mines – who they both beat
 
THE SERIES WITH THE MULERIDERS
Lubbock Christian and Central Missouri have never met in men's basketball.