Five Lone Star Conference men’s basketball programs were undefeated last week with UAFS picking up a win over No. 13 DBU while No. 4 West Texas A&M and No. 9 Lubbock Christian were 2-0 in conference play. Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce both picked up a win against league competition.
 
            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 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.
 
DIVISION II MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Due to COVID-19, NCAA Division II has approved regional alignment adjustments, bracket reductions, and predetermined regional sites for the basketball championships. With the adjustments, the LSC will be joined by the Great American Conference (GAC) in the South Central Region for the 2021 postseason.  The Division II Championship bracket has been reduced to 48 teams from 64, with six teams selected from each of the eight regions this year.  The predetermined regional site for men’s basketball is Lubbock, Texas hosted by Lubbock Christian, with games set for March 13-14-16.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Payton Brown, UAFS, FR, Business, G, Waldron, Ark., Waldron HS
Payton Brown scored 25 points to lead all scorers as UAFS upset No. 13 DBU on Sunday in Fort Smith, Ark. The freshman guard tied the game at 70 with a pair of free throws with 40 seconds remaining to cap off a 4-of-4 night from the charity stripe. Brown leads the league in free throw shooting hitting 92.5 percent of his attempts. He shot 8-of-15 from the floor (53.3 percent) including 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc in the win. The Waldron, Ark. native also chipped in with six rebounds and a pair of assists. Brown ranks moved into third in the LSC in scoring averaging 20.4 points per game.
 
DEFENSIVE
Kavon Booker, West Texas A&M, SO, Sport and Exercise Science, G, Schertz, Texas, Samuel Clemens HS
Kavon Booker had an impressive weekend for No. 4 West Texas A&M as they picked up a pair of road wins over Cameron. The sophomore averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and. 3.5 blocks per game in 18.5 minutes per contest. In their 86-82 win on Friday, Booker had 10 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five blocks registering all but one of the Buffs’ shot rejections. He added two more blocks and three rebounds in Saturday’s 103-50 rout as CU shot just 34.5 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from 3-point range.
 
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
F-1      Jordan Horn, UT Permian Basin
F-8      Will Chayer, Texas A&M-Kingsville (2)
F-15    Joel Murray, West Texas A&M
F-22    Payton Brown, UAFS
 
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)
F-1      Will Chayer, Texas A&M-Kingsville
F-8      Jordan Wilson, Texas A&M-Kingsville
F-15    Emmanuel Gant, UT Tyler (2)
F-22    Kavon Booker, West Texas A&M

SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
    Jermane Carter, Midwestern State, erupted for career highs scoring 25 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead Midwestern State to an 84-75 win over Angelo State Saturday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The 6-7, 190-pound junior forward connected on 9-of-11 shots from the field including his second 3-pointer of the season, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Carter snagged a season-high eight offensive rebounds and tops the LSC and is fourth in NCAA Division II with 4.57 offensive boards per game. Carter upped his season averages to 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
     Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian, led the Chaps in scoring in a pair of dominant wins over UT Permian Basin, scoring 21 points on Friday and 18 on Sunday. The senior hit 54.2 percent of his shots for the week, including a 6-of-12 performance from behind the arc. He also chipped in nine rebounds and three assists.
 
     Joel Murray, West Texas A&M, averaged 21.0 points per game and shot 42.3 from the floor, 66.7 percent from three and 81.8 percent for the Buffs in a pair of road wins over Cameron over the weekend. The conference’s leading scorer scored 11 of his 25 points in the second half of Friday’s 86-82 win to hold off a late rally from the Aggies. He also made a career-high 14 free throws in the game. In a season-low 21 minutes in Saturday’s 103-50 rout, Murray scored 17 points and hit 54.5 percent from the floor and making all four attempts from the charity stripe.
 
     Augustine Ene, Texas A&M-Commerce, scored a team-high 21 points in the Lions' 80-78 win at Oklahoma Christian after 15 days away from competition. He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line and added nine rebounds.
 
     Marco Foster, Oklahoma Christian, fueled a late rally that fell just short in an 80-78 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday. He scored 23 points, finishing 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range. Two of his 3-pointers came in the final 19.4 seconds as OC closed an eight-point deficit to two before time expired. He also added four assists and three rebounds.
 
     Marques Warrior Jr., Cameron, continued to prove that he is one of the top freshmen in the Lone Star Conference in his two performances against No. 4 West Texas A&M last week. The Putnam City West graduate had 18 points, eight assists, and six rebounds and led the second-half comeback that saw CU go from 17-down to just one point back heading into the final minutes of the game. Warrior Jr. was a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe during Friday’s battle with the Buffs. He followed that up with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the weekend finale. Over the last three games, Warrior Jr. has averaged 19.7 points and 4.3 assists for the Aggies.