The Lubbock Christian University basketball teams are trying to stay close in the Lone Star Conference West Division contests. Beyond that, the Chaps and Lady Chaps must build their résumés for the South Central Region eight-team portion of the Division II NCAA Tournament.
This week is one where neither of us can afford to be wrong. Both are away for conference games Thursday and Saturday against opponents with losing records.
Thursday night in Wichita Falls, the Lady Chaps (13-7, 8-4 LSC) take on Midwest State (5-14, 3-10) at 5:30 p.m., followed at 7:30 p.m. by the Chaps (12-6, 8-4) against the Midwest (9-10, 6-7).
Then the LCU teams get on the bus and go to Lawton, Oklahoma where the Lady Chaps play Cameron (9-10, 6-7) at 1 pm on Saturday and the Chaps face the Aggies (4-15, 2-11) at 15:00
It might be worth mentioning that teams below .500, even well below .500, can be dangerous. The LCU men were 22-1 last February when they went to Lawton and lost in overtime to a Cameron team that finished 3-14.
LCU Women are ranked second in the LSC West Division, but missed a chance to pick up wins against the top two teams in the LSC East Division last week, losing to UT Tyler (16-3, 11-1 ) last Thursday and at No. 4 Texas Woman’s (17-1, 12-0) on Saturday.
The Lady Chaps have won their last five meetings with Midwestern State and are 6-1 against the Mustangs under Steve Gomez. Tahoka’s Natalie Stice is the leading scorer in the Midwest, averaging 13.6 points per game.
LCU forward Grace Foster is averaging 14.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh and second in the conference, respectively.
The LCU men are tied for fourth place in the LSC West Division, although the Chaps took care of business on the road last week, winning last Thursday at UT Tyler and Saturday at Dallas Baptist.
Midwest State, however, snapped a six-game losing streak in the series against LCU in the first round of conference play, beating the Chaps 71-65 on New Year’s Day at the Rip Griffin Center.
Chaps forwards Rowan Mackenzie and Russell Harrison are the second and seventh leading scorer in the conference averaging 19.4 and 15.6 points per game, respectively. Point guard Najeeb Muhammad is third in the LSC in assists averaging 4.6 per game and second in assists-to-turnover ratio.
THURSDAY AREA PROGRAM
Women
Lubbock Christian University (13-7, 8-4) at Midwestern State (5-14, 3-10), 5:30pm
South Plains College (10-7, 4-0) in West Texas (5-12, 0-5), 5:45 p.m.
Wayland Baptist (12-7, 8-5) at Mid-America Christian (16-4, 10-4), 6 p.m.
Men
Lubbock Christian University (12-6, 8-4) at Midwestern State (9-10, 6-7), 7:30pm
#10 South Plains College (16-3, 4-1) in West Texas (8-11, 1-4), 7:30 p.m.
Wayland Baptist (13-6, 8-5) at Mid-American Christian (8-12, 5-9), 8 p.m.
