NO. 10 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (22-4, 13-3 LSC)
vs. ANGELO STATE (15-12, 6-10 LSC)
Thursday, February 19 – 7:30 p.m.
Junell Center (San Angelo, Texas)
 
TIPOFF
Lubbock Christian University is headed out on the road for the final time in the 2025-26 regular season, starting with Thursday night's game at 7:30 p.m. at the Junell Center. The Chaps have won back-to-back games and currently find themselves in third in the Lone Star Conference standings behind Eastern New Mexico and DBU, who are tied for first. After the end of the regular season next week, the top eight teams will head to Frisco for the Lone Star Conference Tournament at the Comerica Center.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Lubbock Christian University junior forward Antonio Pusateri was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. The California native had a pair of doubles-doubles with 16 defensive rebounds and three blocks to lead the No. 11-ranked Chaps to wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International. Pusateri led a unit that allowed just 59.5 points per game. He averaged 18 points per game and his rebound totals of 10 were both game highs. Pusateri also added five assists. His 17 double-doubles lead the league and are second in all of NCAA Division II this season.
 
IN THEIR DEFENSE
The Chaparrals have held six of their last seven opponents below the 70-point mark and four of those opponents to below 40 percent shooting. LCU has played 17 games this season where they limited an opponent to less than 70 points, winning all 17 times. Lubbock Christian opponents are averaging just 67.0 points per game this season, which gives them the third-best defense in the Lone Star Conference. Chap opponents shoot just 41.6 percent from the field, including 30.3 percent from behind the arc.
 
SHARP SHOOTERS
As a team, LCU now shooting 50.7 percent on the season, which ranks 9th in the nation and leads  the conference. Lubbock Christian is also ranked 5th 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 .580. Pusateri leads the team and is third in the LSC in field goal percentage at .595, and Miller Jr. and Lucas Mercandino are all shooting better than 48 percent as well.
 
 
BEYOND THE ARC
LCU's efficiency extends all the way out past the three-point line, where their 39.7 percent shooting ranks seventh in all of Division II and leads the LSC. Kendall Dow leads the team and is third in the league, shooting 40.4 percent from deep. Dow is also second in the conference with 2.7 made three-pointers per game. LCU matched a program record with 20 made three-pointers – including 12 in the second half – earlier this season against Fort Lewis. The Chaps have shot better than 50 percent from behind the arc three times this season, including a season-high 64.7 percent on Nov. 2 against Augusta.
 
BOARDING SCHOOL
The Chaps out-rebounded another opponent on Saturday, grabbing 14 more boards than the Dustdevils. LCU did got another double-double from Pusateri in the game – his 17th of the season – which ranks second nationally. Pusateri is averaging 10.9 boards per game, which is sixth nationally and puts him on pace for 327 this season. That would be the fourth-most by a Chap in a season in program history. Miller actually out-does him on the defensive glass, where he averages 7.64 boards per game, ranking seventh nationally. LCU is averaging 37.1 rebounds per game, and they have out-rebounded their opponents 19 time this season, going 18-1 in those contests.
 
IRON MEN
Three of the top six players in the Lone Star Conference in minutes per game are starters for LCU. Miller Jr. leads the way, ranking second in the league and 39th nationally with 35:15 minutes per game. Dow and Pusateri are not far behind at third and sixth, respectively. Dow has played the full 40 minutes in seven games this season. Only Leo Nordberg (22.9) and Reagan Fielder (10.5) are averaging double-digit minutes off the bench, although Nordberg has moved into the starting lineup since Alex Anamekwe was injured in the game against West Texas A&M and Fiedler has since been injured himself.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Lubbock Christian moved up a in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top-25 poll and is now ranked No. 10. The Chaps have been nationally ranked every week this season, and they are one of just three Lone Star Conference teams in the rankings this week. Eastern New Mexico is at No. 9 and St. Edward's is No. 14. The Chaps have played seven games this season against ranked opponents and are 5-2 in those contests.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
This is Lubbock Christian's final road trip of the regular season, where they have been fairly successful so far this year. The Chaps are just 7-2 in true road games, and 6-1 at neutral sites. In the nine true road games, they are averaging 78.3 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting. LCU opponents on the road average 70.3 points per game on 43.9 percent shooting. The two true road losses the Chaps have suffered came at Cameron and at DBU.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMS

• Angelo State is the worst three-point shooting team in the conference, hitting just 29.6 percent of their shots from beyond the arc
• ASU has lost back-to-back games, but both of those losses were by single-digits
• Jaqai Murray leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game on 54.3 percent shooting
• The Ram defense is the second-best in the LSC, allowing an average of just 66.6 points per game
• Head coach Vinay Patel is in his fourth season leading ASU and has a 77-42 record in his time there

 
THE SERIES WITH THE RAMS
Lubbock Christian and Angelo State have met 37 times since the former moved from the JUCO ranks to a four-year institution. ASU leads the all-time series 24-13, although most of those wins came in the 20^th century. Lately, the Chaps have controlled the matchup, winning eight of the last 10 matchups. When the teams met in Lubbock earlier this year, LCU won 68-62 behind 23 points from Miller.