Lubbock Christian remained on top of the LSC men's basketball standings heading into the final week of the season, as the fourth-ranked Chaps were one of six undefeated programs last week. DBU's 1-1 record during the week kept the Patriots in second and still with a chance at claiming the conference title.
Angelo State, St. Edward's, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Permian Basin and West Texas A&M also went undefeated as teams jockey for seeding ahead of the 2022 LSC Basketball Championship next week.
LSC men’s basketball teams are 234-177 overall and 20-12 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
2022 LSC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
The LSC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are set for March 1-3-4-5-6, 2022, with the opening round on-campus on Tuesday, March 1. The final eight teams will advance to the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, for the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship rounds March 3-6. The top 12 men’s and women’s teams will qualify and be seeded based on the league standings following a single-round robin conference schedule (16 games).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Uche Dibiamaka, St. Edward's, GR, Masters of Business Administration, G, Adelaide, South Australia, Houston Second Baptist
Dibiamaka led the Hilltoppers to a 2-0 week with big wins over Texas A&M-Commerce and UT Tyler on the road. The grad student from Adelaide, South Australia, averaged 20.5 points while hitting 53.3-percent of his shots from the floor. He opened his week with his second double-double of the season, dropping 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds against TAMUC in the Hilltoppers’ 81-66 win. On Saturday, Dibiamaka poured in a season-high 27 points, hitting 10-of-17 from the floor, including a season-high five three pointers. He added eight rebounds, an assist and two steals as SEU toppled UTT 81-60.
DEFENSIVE
Dayante McClellan, Texas A&M-Kingsville, SR, Industrial Management and Technology, F, Austin, Texas, Del Valle HS
McClellan did it all for the Javelinas, who reeled off their second and third straight wins, leading the team in rebounding with 7.0 per game. In TAMUK's win over DBU, the senior just missed a double-double pulling down 10 rebounds while chipping eight points. The forward also dished out a trio of assists, blocked a pair of shots and added a steal as the Javelinas pulled out a 74-70 win. TAMUK held the Patriots and Midwestern State to just 40.5-percent shooting from the floor and 64.5 points per game.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
N-15 Devaughn Thomas, Angelo State
N-22 Matthew Wilson, UAFS
N-29 Zach Toussaint, West Texas A&M
D-6 Larry Wise, West Texas A&M
D-13 DaJuan Jones, UT Permian Basin
D-21 Lloyd Daniels, Lubbock Christian
J-3 Augustine Ene, Texas A&M-Commerce
J-10 Larry Wise, West Texas A&M (2)
J-17 Cameron Kahn, DBU
J-24 Tyrell Carroll, Angelo State
J-31 Jermane Carter, Midwestern State
F-7 Julian Miranda, DBU
F-14 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian (6)
F-21 Uche Dibiamaka, St. Edward's
Defensive
N-15 Kavon Booker, West Texas A&M
N-22 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian
N-29 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian (2)
D-6 Kavon Booker, West Texas A&M (2)
D-13 Clashon Gaffney, Texas A&M-Commerce
D-21 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian (3)
J-3 Evan Anderson, UAFS
J-10 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian (4)
J-17 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian (5)
J-24 Will Chayer, Texas A&M-Kingsville
J-31 Carson Hughes, DBU
F-7 Ryan Leonard, St. Mary’s
F-14 Kenyon Holcombe, Cameron
F-21 Dayante McClellan, Texas A&M-Kingsville
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Larry Wise, West Texas A&M, helped the Buffs to a pair of road victories against Cameron and Western New Mexico as WT outscored opponents 93.0-60.0. The Waxahachie, Texas native averaged 18.0 points during the wins, including his seventh 20-plus point game against the Mustangs. He shot 55 percent from the field, including 42 percent from beyond the arc to go with 10 rebounds, four assists, one block and a steal.
Aamer Muhammad, Lubbock Christian, was the team's top performer in the Chaps’ lone game of the week. He put together a complete performance on the road against Eastern New Mexico, leading the team with 21 points while adding in seven rebounds and five assists. The New Mexico native shot 57.1 percent from the floor and tallied one steal as well.
Miles Daniels, UT Permian Basin, was electric last week averaging 27 points per game and has scored 20 points in five of the previous seven games. He led all scorers in the LSC last week while also connecting on the most threes and field goals. On Thursday, he dropped 26 points on the road along with nine rebounds as the Falcons beat Oklahoma Christian. On Saturday, he was on fire from deep, going 7-for-11 from three and scoring 28 points, the most by any Falcon this season. He now leads the LSC in three-pointers, is second in three-point percentage, and is ninth overall in scoring.
Lathaniel Bastian, Angelo State, was the catalyst of the Rams' offense as they completed a perfect 2-0 record on the road. Bastian put up a 16 point, eight rebound performance against UAFS, going 6-of-7 from the field. He followed that up with a 19-point outing versus Oklahoma Christian, shooting 7-of-11 and pulling down eight rebounds, four on the offensive glass. Bastian ended the week shooting an impressive 72 percent from the field.
Creighton Avery, Texas A&M-Kingsville, was on target all week, shooting 50 percent from the field, 4-of-6 on threes and helping the Javelinas collect a pair of victories. On Thursday night, Avery led the Hogs with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, contributing to a 59-58 Javelina win over Midwestern State. Two days later, he had another 16 point night, hit 3-of-3 three from beyond the arc and passed out three assists as TAMUK came from behind to beat DBU, 74-70. Avery averaged a team-high 16 points per game for the week.
Augustine Ene, Texas A&M-Commerce, shot 9-for-18 from outside the three-point arc against St. Mary’s and St. Mary’s this weekend. He also shot 50 percent from the field and made all four free throw attempts. Ene had 20 points and five rebounds against St. Edward’s and 17 against St. Mary’s. He leads the conference with a three-point percentage of .460 and is fourth with an average of 2.8 three pointers made per game.
Anthony Johnson, Oklahoma Christian, matched his career scoring high with 23 points in his final game in the Eagles' Nest, a 91-79 loss to Angelo State on Saturday, and scored 12 points in a 76-60 loss to Texas-Permian Basin on Thursday. He made 5 of 10 3-point shots during the week for the Eagles.
Tyrell Carroll, Angelo State, was a menace on the defensive side of the ball for the Rams in their 2-0 week on the road. The junior guard averaged 3.5 steals per contest along with 5.5 rebounds. Against UAFS, Carroll collected three steals to add to an impressive stat line, nine points, seven assists, and five rebounds. He stayed all over the stat sheet against Oklahoma Christian, with four steals, six rebounds, and six assists to go along with his 15 points. The Rams would hold their opponents to .454 percent shooting and 72.5 points a contest.
Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian, played just one game on the week, limiting Eastern New Mexico to just 58 points and 41.2 percent shooting in their own gym. Parker Hicks anchored the defensive effort, leading the team in rebounds with 11, nine of which came on the defensive glass. The senior added in 13 points, giving him his third-straight double-double and 11th of the season.
Ryan Leonard, St. Mary's, helped lift the Rattlers to a road win at Texas A&M Commerce, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the second half, and he grabbed three of his seven rebounds in the final 3:49 to help stave off the Lions. The defense held Texas A&M Commerce to a .407 - one of their lowest outputs of the season. For the week, Leonard grabbed five steals and 11 rebounds in keeping the Rattlers in a hunt for a first-round bye.
Clashon Gaffney, Texas A&M-Commerce, averaged four blocks and five rebounds in the two games this past weekend. He had four blocks and five rebounds in each game while totaling 12 points in the two games. He shot 50 percent from the field and leads the LSC, and is second in the country with an average of 2.96 blocks per game.