Six Lone Star Conference men's basketball teams remained unbeaten in 2021-22, including No. 9 Lubbock Christian, Angelo State, Texas A&M International, Texas A&M-Commerce, UT Tyler and Western New Mexico. LCU held off a late second-half rally to top No. 3 West Texas A&M in a non-conference matchup in Lubbock.
LSC men’s basketball teams are 44-15 overall and 18-12 against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the other conference in the South Central Region.
LSC schedule and results are available here:
https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=mbball
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Matthew Wilson, UAFS, SR, History, G, Farmington, Ark., Farmington HS
Wilson drained the game-winning three at the buzzer in an 81-80 overtime win against Henderson State on Saturday to help lead UAFS to a 2-0 week. He scored 24 points and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line while adding two rebounds and two assists. The senior also hit 9-of-15 and scored a team-high 21 points in a 90-33 win over University of the Ozarks on Thursday. He also tallied five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. For the week, Wilson averaged 22.5 points per game and shot 48.5 percent from the field.
DEFENSIVE
Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian, SR, Secondary Education, F, Decatur, Texas, Decatur HS
Hicks was a force on the glass, averaging double-digit rebounds while also leading the team in scoring in a pair of LCU wins. In Thursday's upset of No. 3 West Texas A&M, he matched his career-high with 15 boards, including 12 on the defensive glass, and blocked two Buff shots in a seven-point victory. Hicks helped anchor a defense that held WT to just 32.4 percent shooting from the floor. The senior fell one rebound short of a second double-double in Saturday's win over Arlington Baptist. He also added a pair of steals during the week.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
N-15 Devaughn Thomas, Angelo State
N-22 Matthew Wilson, UAFS
Defensive
N-15 Kavon Booker, West Texas A&M
N-22 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Jairus Roberson, Texas A&M-Commerce, came off the bench on Saturday against Fort Valley State and shot 7-for-9 from beyond the arc for 21 points. He knocked down three free throws for 24 points to lead the team. He also had two rebounds and two assists.
Greg Bowie II, Texas A&M International, was a force offensively for the Dustdevils in their 2-0 week. In their 79-41 win over Southwestern Adventist, Bowie II scored 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting, along with four rebounds and two assists. He followed that performance on Saturday with 21 points (8-for-18), five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Through four games, Bowie II is averaging a team-high 14 points per game.
Daniel Venzant, St. Edward’s, led the Hilltoppers to a pair of wins, averaging 17 points per game in just 22.5 minutes per game. He shot 62.5 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range this week while adding seven assists and three steals.
C.J. Smith, Texas A&M-Kingsville, served as the catalyst during a week in which the Javelinas captured a pair of wins. During a Friday victory over Dallas Christian, Smith handed out six assists to go with eight points and three steals as TAMUK cruised, 89-53. One day later, he poured in 23 points, added four more helpers and an additional two thefts to lead the Hogs in a come-from-behind effort against Northwest Nazarene. For the week, Smith averaged 15.5 points per game and totaled 10 assists with five steals. He currently owns the third-best assist average in the conference with a mark of 5.3.
Jamey Sanders, Midwestern State, was nearly perfect from the floor, hitting four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points to lead Midwestern State to an 86-65 win over Central Oklahoma Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The junior guard from Memphis hit five of his six shots from the field to up his season average to 11.3 points per game.
Karlyn Kenner, Oklahoma Christian, averaged 14.0 points and shot 41.7 percent (5 of 12) from 3-point range as the Eagles beat Champion Christian (Ark.) 91-63 on Thursday and nearly rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit before falling 74-71 to Northeastern State on Saturday. He scored 15 points in the loss to Northeastern, 12 of those after halftime as the Eagles eventually pulled within two points before falling.
Micah Fuller, UT Tyler, averaged 11.3 points a game in UT Tyler's three wins over Southwestern Adventist, Fort Valley State and Dallas Christian. Fuller notched double-digit point totals in each of the three games on a Patriot squad that averaged a perfect 100.0 points a game. He went 12-of-21 from the field for the week with a high of 13 points in the win Friday night against Fort Valley State.
Tiras Morton, Texas A&M International, was a defensive force for the Dustdevils in their 2-0 week. In Monday's 79-41 win over Southwestern Adventist, Morton had a game-high 11 rebounds (four offensive, seven defensive) and two blocks to lead that category for TAMIU in just 17 minutes. In Saturday's 83-51 win over Huston-Tillotson, Morton added another nine rebounds (one offensive, eight defensive), a game-high three blocks and an assist to go with four points. Weekly averages for Morton were 2.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
Eysan Wiley, UT Tyler, averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in UT Tyler's three wins over Southwestern Adventist, Fort Valley State and Dallas Christian College this week. Wiley and the Patriots limited their opposition to just 54.7 points a game between the three contests and outscored their opponents by an average of 45.3 points. Wiley notched rebounding totals of five, six and five for the three games, and also chipped in a pair of blocks and a steal in the efforts.
Derek Luna, Texas A&M-Kingsville, played more minutes than anyone last week for a Javelina team that notched a pair of wins a limited its two opponents to an average of just 55.5 points per game. On Friday, he grabbed three rebounds and a pair of steals to go with nine points as the Hogs handled Dallas Christian 89-53. On Saturday, the Javs erased a 39-31 halftime deficit with the help of 12 second-half points from Luna to defeat Northwest Nazarene, 67-58. Luna continues to lead the Javelinas in scoring and has maintained a spot in the top five in the LSC in points per game.
Tyrell Carroll, Angelo State, collected eight steals on the weekend as the Rams defeated both Northwest Nazarene and Dallas Christian at the Javelina Classic. Carroll picked up a career-high six steals against the Nighthawks, tying the second-most steals in a game in program history.
Nyk Madison, Oklahoma Christian, blocked four shots and grabbed seven rebounds with seven points as Oklahoma Christian nearly rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit before falling 74-71 to Northeastern State on Saturday. He also added a block and seven rebounds to go with 12 points in a 91-63 win over Champion Christian (Ark.) on Thursday.
Clashon Gaffney, Texas A&M-Commerce, blocked four shots in Saturday’s win against Fort Valley State. He also had eight points and five defensive rebounds. Gaffney shot 3 for 4 from the field.