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NO. 5 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (15-2, 6-1 LSC)
vs. NO. 16 WEST TEXAS A&M (14-3, 6-1LSC)
Thursday, January 15 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
 
TIPOFF

It’s been a full 40 days since Lubbock Christian last played a game on their home floor, but they will finally get that chance once again on Thursday as they host West Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center. The rivalry matchup is the only one on the regular season schedule this season, as the Chaps will not make the return trip to Canyon in the new Lone Star Conference format. Both teams enter with 6-1 league records, tied for the LSC’s second spot, one game back of Dallas Baptist.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN

The Chaparrals moved up one spot in the National Association of Basketball Coaches national poll and is now ranked No. 5. Three of the four teams ranked ahead of them are still undefeated on the year, including top-ranked Washburn. West Texas A&M is also ranked in the poll, holding the No. 16 spot this week. Another three Lone Star Conference teams are nationally ranked, including St. Edward’s (18), Eastern New Mexico (24) and Dallas Baptist (25). St. Mary’s is also receiving votes. By the end of the week, LCU will have played five ranked teams in their last six games. They are 4-1 against ranked opponents so far this season.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
The LCU/WT matchup will be the latest in the 2025-26 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. Lubbock Christian lost last year’s series by just two points and trails 5-4 this year.
 
STARTING STARS
Now more than halfway through the regular season, three Lubbock Christian players – Amondo Miller Jr., Kendall Dow and Antonio Pusateri – rank in the top 10 in the LSC in minutes per game. Miller Jr.’s average of 36.2 per contest ranks 15th in the nation. He has only played less than 30 minutes twice this season, and he has played the full 40 two times. Because LCU plays its starters so much, they rank 288th out of the 289 Division II teams in bench points per game with just 6.71. Only Leo Nordberg is averaging more than 10 minutes per game off of LCU’s bench.
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS
As a team, LCU now shooting 49.4 on the season, which ranks 18th in the nation and leads  the conference. Lubbock Christian is also ranked 13th 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 .567. Pusateri leads the team in field goal percentage at .561, and Miller Jr. is also shooting better than 50 percent this season.
 
BEYOND THE ARC
LCU’s efficiency extends all the way out past the three-point line, where their 39.2 percent shooting ranks 16th in all of Division II and leads the LSC. Miller Jr. leads the team, shooting 43.1 percent, and Dow is also shooting better than 40 percent. Dow  also leads the conference with 2.5 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.
 
BOARD GAMES
Lubbock Christian was out-rebounded for just the third time this season against Midwestern State. They are averaging 37.2 rebounds per game this season, which ranks seventh in the LSC. Pusateri leads the Chaps on the glass and is one of the top rebounders in the nation. His 185 rebounds are the second-most in all of Division II, as are his 10 double-doubles. On Dec. 20 against Dominican, he pulled down 21, which is the third-most in a game this season by a D-II player. He is currently on pace to break LCU’s single-season rebound record of 372, which was set by Ron Ranger in 1991.
 
WHERE THE HEART IS
This will be the fifth home game of the season for the Chaps, who are 4-0 inside the Rip Griffin so far this year. Including Thursday’s matchup with WT, they have eight more games on their home court. In their four home games so far this season, they are averaging 78.5 points per game on 51.3 shooting, while limiting opponents to 62.3 points per game on 41 percent shooting. Officially dedicated on October 9, 2000, the Rip Griffin Center seats 1,950 fans for sporting events.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS


West Texas A&M has played into overtime in three of its last four contests, going 2-1 in those contests
The Buffs lead the Lone Star Conference in offense, averaging 88.5 points per game
Fontain Williams, a transfer from Barton Community College, leads WT in scoring with 19.5 points per game
WT’s only conference loss came at Western New Mexico, and they dropped non-conference contests against Central Missouri and Washburn
Despite a season shooting percentage of .454 overall this season, the Buffs have shot below 40 percent in three of their last four games

 
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFS

Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M first met on the hardwood in 1978, but did not start facing off regularly until 2014, when the Chaps moved into the Division II level. The Buffs lead the all-time series 26-13, but in the 22 contests in LCU’s D-II era, the wins are spilt evenly at 11 apiece. Lubbock Christian won all three meetings last season, including an overtime thriller in last year’s LSC Tournament, in which the Chaps trailed by as many as 16 and Ethan Duncan scored a career-high 37.