No. 21 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (24-7, 19-4)
vs. WEST TEXAS A&M (19-10, 13-9)
Saturday, March 8, 2025 – 8:30 p.m.
Comerica Center (Frisco, Texas)
 
TIPOFF
After a nail-biting, overtime win against Eastern New Mexico in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Lone Star Conference Championship, No. 2-seeded Lubbock Christian will take on No. 6-seeded West Texas A&M at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in the semi-finals. LCU has won 12 of its last 13 games, but the Buffs are on a recent hot streak of their own with wins in five of the last six, including an upset of the No. 3-seeded Midwestern State in the quarter-final round. This is LCU's fourth straight year to advance into the semi-finals of the LSC Tournament, where they are 7-5 all-time. WT is the all-time leader in LSC Tournament titles, winning 12 overall, including six straight from 2018 to 20223.
 
LONE STAR ALL-STARS
The 2024-25 Lone Star Conference men's basketball awards were announced on Wednesday night, with six Lubbock Christian players honored, including LSC Player of the Year Ethan Duncan. Duncan is the first LCU player to win the league's Player of the Year award since Parker Hicks won it in 2022, which was his second-straight year earning the accolade. He also earned a spot on the All-LSC First Team. Najeeb Muhammad was named to the All-LSC Second Team. Ty Caswell was an All-LSC Third Team selection and also earned a spot on the All-Academic Team, where he was joined by Aaron Gonzales. Amondo Miller Jr. and Sean Murphy were named to the All-LSC Honorable Mention Team.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
The LCU/WT matchup will continue the 2024-25 school year's Rivalry on the Range series. Announced on August 6, 2019, the Rivalry on the Range is a year-long competition including 15 sports in which the two schools will compete against one another. The Rivalry on the Range series scoring components includes head-to-head battles in men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball, with additional points available in postseason play. Fans can review the scoring system at rivalryontherange.com.
 
MILESTONES
With a three-pointer at the 16:44 mark in the second half of Friday's game against Eastern New Mexico, LCU senior forward Ty Caswell surpassed the 1000-point mark for his collegiate career. Caswell is the second Chaparral this season to reach that milestone, who reached 1000 in his LCU career in the Jan. 25 game against Cameron. Muhammad is also close to another milestone. After racking up eight assists on Friday, he now has 380 as a Chap. That puts him four short of surpassing Marcus Arrington (2013-17) for fifth all-time in LCU history. Lubbock Christian guard Ethan Duncan is also not far away from the 1000-point milestone, currently sitting at 979 career points. He scored 18 on Friday.
 
THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST
Even with the extra five minutes, Lubbock Christian held Eastern New Mexico to well under its scoring average in Friday's contest. The Chaps have one of the top defenses in the nation (No. 14), and lead the LSC, allowing just 65.7 points per game. LCU opponents shoot 43 percent, including just 33 percent from behind the arc. The Chaps have held opponents under 60 points 10 times this season and are undefeated in those contests. In the first meeting against the Buffs this season, LCU held WT to just 48 points, which was their lowest total since Feb. 15, 2024.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
The Chaps were just 14-21 from the free throw line in the quarter-final matchup, shooting 66.7 percent, which was their lowest mark in a game since Jan. 3, when they shot 63.6 percent at Eastern New Mexico. Even with Friday's less-than-great showing, the Chaps still lead the conference in free throw percentage at 79.9 percent. Muhammad was a perfect 6-6 in his trips to the charity stripe, raising his season average to 86.7 percent, which is second-best in the LSC. Duncan (.932) and Caswell (.897) are both actually shooting better than Muhammad, but do not have the minimum number of attempts to qualify for the league leaderboards.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
A 1-1 weekend against Midwestern State did a little damage to the Chaps' national reputation, but not enough to drop them out of the rankings. They actually stood pat at No. 21 in the D2SCSC poll, which has been their slot for three straight weeks since they entered the top-25. In the NABC poll, they did drop, falling to No. 22. Their only opponent last week, MSU, entered the NABC poll and holds the No. 25 spot.
 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The third NCAA regional rankings were released on Wednesday, with LCU holding their spot for a second-straight week. The Chaps came in at No. 3 this week with a 22-7 overall D-II record, including 20-7 in South Central Region play. The two teams above LCU are No. 1 Colorado School of Mines and No. 2 DBU, both teams the Chaps have beat this season. Other LSC teams under consideration include Midwestern State, St. Mary's, St. Edward's, Eastern New Mexico, Angelo State and West Texas A&M. Regis is the only other RMAC team in the rankings at No. 10. 
 
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFS
Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M have met 38 total times in a series dating all the way back to 1978. WT leads the series 26-12, but 10 of those wins came prior to the 21^st century. In LCU's Division II era, the series has been much more even, with the Chaps winning 10 and the Buffs 11. Lubbock Christian has won three straight meetings, including both in the regular season this year.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS

• Guard Narit Chotikavanic was named the Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year, averaging 10.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game
• Along with Chotikavanic, two other WT players were named to the league's All-Freshman team, including Jailyn Sledge and Bob Griechen
• Buff guard Ahamed Mohammed leads the LSC in scoring with an averaging 18.9 points per game. He was injured during LCU's most recent meeting with WT
• West Texas A&M has played 71 games in the LSC Tournament all-time, going 51-20 (.718) in that time. Their first title came in 1990
• The Buffs hold opponents to 31.1 percent shooting from behind the arc, which is the third-best mark in the LSC