NO. 7 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (10-2, 3-1 LSC)
vs. DOMINICAN (6-3, 3-1 CACC)
Saturday, December 20 – 1:30 a.m. PT
South Point Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada)
 
TIPOFF
Lubbock Christian University stopped its two-game skid with a win against Central Missouri on Wednesday and left San Antonio shortly after for Las Vegas, where they will play two games this weekend in the Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Hotel. The Chaps will first face Dominican (NY) on Saturday before matching up with West Liberty on Sunday in their last game before the Christmas break. Both games are set to tip off at 1:30 p.m. PT.
 
VIVA LAS VEGAS
This is Lubbock Christian's second-straight season with a trip to The Entertainment Capital and their fourth overall, and they have been successful so far. In their three previous participations of the Holiday Hoops Classic, which dated back to the 2021-22 season, they have gone 5-1. Last year's loss to Montana State Billings is the only blemish on that record, but they did get a win in 2024 against Western Washington in a game that the Chaps held the Vikings to just 35.2 percent shooting.
 
BOARD GAMES
LCU out-rebounded Central Missouri on Wednesday and tied in rebounding in the loss to No. 2 Washburn. The Chaps have been ahead in that category in 10 of 12 games so far this season. They are averaging 36.3 rebounds per game, and their average rebound margin of 5.3 is fourth-best in the LSC. A large portion of that comes from Antonio Pusateri, who leads the conference and ranks 20^th nationally with 9.4 rebounds per game. He pulled down a season-high 15 against Cameron last Saturday, which was the most by an LCU player since Brennan Fowler had 18 against Jarvis Christian College on Nov. 29, 2018.
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS
As a team, LCU now shooting 49.9 on the season, which ranks 18^th in the nation and ranks second in the conference. Lubbock Christian is ranked even higher – 12^th  nationally – in Effective FG%, which is a statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points, while all other field goals only count for two points. Their EFG% so far this season is .575. Pusateri leads the team in field goal percentage at .582, and Amondo Miller Jr. is also shooting better than 50 percent.
 
BEYOND THE ARC
The Chaps shot 43.8 percent from deep in the win against the Mules, their fourth time this season hitting on better than 40 percent of their three-point attempts. LCU is shooting 41.3 percent from deep as a team, which leads the LSC and ranks fifth in all of Division II. Jett McCasland leads the team, shooting 50 percent from behind the arc, but does not have enough attempts to qualify for the conference or national leaderboards. Kendall Dow does though, ranking second in the LSC with a .43.8 three-point percentage. LCU matched a program record with 20 made three-pointers – including 12 in the second half – earlier this season against Fort Lewis. The Chaps shot a season-high 64.7 percent on Nov. 2 against Augusta.
 
OFF THE BENCH
Of the 960 points scored by the Chaparrals through the first 12 games of the season, a whopping 860 (89.6 percent) have come from players in the starting lineup. That starting group has been Miller Jr., Lucas Mercandino, Dow, Alex Anamekwe and Pusateri, save for one game when Mercandino was out with illness. Seven times this season – all in the last eight games – Lubbock Christian has gotten single-digit scoring efforts from their reserves, including just one bench point in Tuesday's loss to the Ichabods. LCU averages just 7.50 bench points per game, which ranks second-to-last nationally.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
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. Sunday's opponent, West Liberty, is also nationally ranked at No. 12. LSC foe West Texas A&M is ranked above the Chaps at No. 4, but the Buffs have lost twice since those rankings were released. Fellow LSC schools St. Mary's (No. 13) and St. Edward's (No. 16) also find themselves ranked.
 
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS

• Dominican started the season on a five-game winning streak before suffering their first two losses, and they are coming off of a 82-77 loss at Adelphi
• The Crusaders have made the NCAA Tournament five out of the last six years, including advancing to the East Region Semifinals last season
• Joseph Clinton, who is not only the head basketball coach but also the athletic director, is in his 33^rd season leading the Chargers
• Five different players are averaging double-figures, led by Elijah Peters with 15.7 points per game
• The Crusaders have struggled defensively so far this year, allowing 83.6 points per game on 48 percent shooting

 
THE SERIES WITH THE CRUSADERS
This will be the first ever meeting between Lubbock Christian and Dominican.