Four Lone Star Conference men’s basketball teams went undefeated last week as No. 15 DBU, No. 16 Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M-Commerce and UAFS all were unblemished in conference play. DBU, LCU and TAMUC picked up two wins each while UAFS went 1-0. Angelo State and St. Mary’s, No. 11 St. Edward’s and UT Permian Basin and Oklahoma Christian and Texas A&M International split their two-game series.
LSC schedule and results available here:
https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=mbball
LSC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
The LSC Men’s Basketball Championship is set for March 2-5-6, 2021, with quarterfinal games on campus sites on Tuesday, March 2. The four winning teams will advance to the final site at the highest remaining seed to play semifinal games on Friday, March 5, followed by the championship game on Saturday, March 6. The top eight teams will qualify for the tournament based on the recently announced
basketball point rating system. The divisional champions will automatically qualify for the tournament and be seeded according to the point rating system. All teams must play a minimum of 11 games to qualify for the conference tournament.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Ricky Lujan, DBU, FR, Business Management, G, Las Cruces, N.M., Onate HS
Ricky Lujan helped lift the No. 15 Patriots to a pair of thrilling one-point wins over Midwestern State after averaging 22.0 points per game. In Friday's 81-80 victory, Lujan led all scorers with 23 points, connecting on 6-of-12 shots from three-point range. With DBU trailing by two points with 1:04 remaining in the game, Lujan drew a charge on the defensive end, setting up the Patriots' Chandler Jacobs to hit what proved to be the game-winning three-pointer. On Saturday, Lujan led DBU in scoring for the second straight time, pouring in 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. For the week, Lujan shot 50 percent from three-point range (8-of-16) and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.
DEFENSIVE
Chandler Jacobs, DBU, SR, Accounting, G, Missouri City, Texas, Elkins HS
Chandler Jacobs helped key a Patriot defensive effort that led No. 15 DBU to a pair of one-point wins over Midwestern State. Jacobs registered a team-high five steals (2.5 steals per game) and averaged 5.0 rebounds per game to help push DBU to a 9-1 record. Jacobs also averaged 15.0 points per game in the Patriots' two wins.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
D-14 Chandler Jacobs, DBU
D-21 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian
J-5 B.J. Maxwell, St. Edward’s
J-11 Chandler Jacobs, DBU (3)
J-18 Chandler Jacobs, DBU (4)
J-25 Ricky Lujan, DBU
Defensive
D-14 Logan Cook, St. Edward's
D-21 Qua Grant, West Texas A&M
J-5 Chandler Jacobs, DBU (2)
J-11 Qua Grant, West Texas A&M (2)
J-18 Emmanuel Gant, UT Tyler
J-25 Chandler Jacobs, DBU (5)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Payton Brown, UAFS, scored a career-high 38 points in a win over Cameron hitting 13-of-18 shots from the floor including 8-of-9 in the first half. Brown also hit 50 percent from beyond the arc connecting on four of his eight attempts.
B.J. Maxwell, St. Edward’s, led the Hilltoppers in scoring during a 1-1 week against UT Permian Basin averaging 20.0 points per game on 55.2 percent shooting from the floor. The senior scored 25 in a win on Thursday in a winning effort. Maxwell also added 6.5 rebounds per game and dished out four assists.
Augustine Ene, Texas A&M-Commerce, was the offensive catalyst for the Lions in a pair of wins over UT Tyler. In the Friday night win, Ene led the Lions from a 15-point deficit, hitting five three-pointers on the way to a 19-point performance. In the Saturday win, he led the Lions with 21 points and six rebounds, including four free throws that would prove to be the margin of victory. He shot 50 percent or better in each game.
Derrick Ogechi, Midwestern State, buried 11 3-pointers and shot 63.6 percent from the field to average 19.5 points and five rebounds in two one-point losses Friday and Saturday at No. 15 DBU. The junior from Brooklyn Park, Minn. went 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-8 from the arc to finish with 19 points in an 81-80 setback on Saturday. Ogechi finished the weekend hitting 7-of-12 shots and burying 6-of-11 of his efforts from 3-point range to book 20 points in a 91-90 loss on Saturday. The 6-3 guard leads the LSC with 3.5 3-point makes per game and ranks seventh in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (41.8).
Anthony Johnson, Oklahoma Christian, led the Eagles to a split at Texas A&M International. He scored a career-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting in OC’s 79-70 win on Tuesday, opening the overtime period with a 3-pointer that gave a shorthanded OC squad the lead for good. He hit 4 of 5 3-point attempts and matched another career high with four steals. He also had 14 points in an 81-68 loss in the first game against the Dustdevils. He entered the two-game set averaging only 7.5 points per game.
Paul Williams, Angelo State, led the Rams in their win over St. Mary's, scoring 20 points for the second time this season. He totaled 15 points the night before and hit 47.6 percent of his attempts from the field during the week. He has now scored double-digit points in six straight games.
Aamer Muhammad, Lubbock Christian, Muhammad led the team in scoring average with 14.0 points per game while shooting an incredibly efficient 71.4 percent from the field in a week that featured two very balanced offensive attacks from Lubbock Christian. He set a new career-high on Friday with 19 points before adding in nine points and five assists in the Saturday win.
Jermane Carter, Midwestern State, nearly led the Mustangs to an upset over No. 15 DBU when he stepped in and drew a charge on the Patriots’ Chandler Jacobs with 18 seconds to play. The junior then snagged an offensive rebound and was fouled on the way back up with approximately 0.6 seconds to play in a tie game. He hit 1-of-2 free throws before the Patriots escaped with a lob play at the buzzer. The ending didn't diminish Carter's effort who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting while contributing three steals and two blocks on the defensive end of the floor. The performance came on the heels of a 19-point, six-rebound effort in an 81-80 loss on Friday with Carter connecting on 9-of-13 shots from the floor while making three steals.
Cameron Copley, Cameron Copley, was LCU's rebounding leader in a pair of dominant wins over Texas A&M International. The Chap defense held TAMIU to just 38 points on Friday, which was the lowest point total by an LCU opponent in two years. On Saturday, the Dustdevils were held to just 50 points, and the Chaps now lead the LSC in scoring defense, allowing just 60.8 points per game.
Logan Cook, St. Edward's, averaged a team-high 12.0 rebounds per game last week in a 1-1 series split with UT Permian Basin. The senior also contributed 8.5 points per game and picked up his second double-double of the season in an 86-65 win over the Falcons.