MEDIA COVERAGE
Live Media: LCU Broadcast

OPENING TIP – The Dallas Baptist Men's Basketball Team resumes its season-long, four-game road trip on Thursday versus Lubbock Christian University at 7 PM. The Patriots come into the Heartland match-up sporting a 7-11 record overall and are 4-7 in the league. DBU opened the road swing with its first victory away from the Burg Center, and came up short in its most recent outing on Saturday with a 75-73 loss at McMurry.   

LAST TIME OUT – The Patriots moved to 1-1 on the road trip after dropping a two-point margin defeat at McMurry that storied the tale of two halves for each squad. DBU poured a season-high 48 points in the first half, led by as many as 23, and marched to a commanding 48-27 halftime advantage.
 
In the second stanza, things flipped in favor of the Warhawks, who outscored DBU 48-25 in the close affair. The Patriots did maintain a double-digit lead with just less than nine minutes to play in the game before McMurry shifted the tide.
 
McMurry took its first lead of the afternoon, 68-67 with 4:02 left in the affair after an old fashioned three-point play was converted by Alfred Perez.
 
Eventually the Patriots found themselves down 74-71 with 22 seconds remaining and redshirt sophomore, Jonathan Perry, pulled the visiting team within a point and 10 seconds to go. DBU's defense forced a turnover on the next possession, but would hand the ball right back on one of its own.
 
McMurry made one-of-two from the free throw line, but Perry's heroic attempt in the lane as time expired missed the mark to complete a rally that the Patriots found themselves on the wrong end of.
 
Perry totaled a game-high 22 points in the setback. Joining the second-year player in double figures was junior, Wesley Gipson, with 13 off the bench. Sophomore, Jason Gentry, chipped in 11 to complete the scoring trio.
 
KEY PLAYERS – Perry continues to be the leading scorer on the squad with 327 points and moves to third in the Heartland Conference for total points. The Kerrville, Texas, native entered his third consecutive week tops in the league with 18.2 points averaged per game (ppg).
 
The forward has claimed 16 double-digit scoring performances in 18 games on the campaign, while extending a season-long eight games in a row to notch the feat. In his second season, Perry continues to impress as he has boasted 20 or more points in six contests, including his record-breaking 47 points versus Southeastern Oklahoma State. The team-leader also eclipsed a season-high in road games with 22 points. His previous high was 21 points at Texas A&M Commerce. 
 
Gipson has been a force off the bench in the first pair of contests on this road trip, contributing 13 points in each one. The native of Fort Worth, Texas has totaled 123 of his 125 points from the bench to lead DBU in that category.
 
His most recent performances add to six results where the junior, guard finished scoring in double-digits. Gipson clinched a season-high 19 points in a 61-59 triumph over Lubbock Christian.
 
Another guard to eye is Gentry. The sophomore has boasted double figures in four of the past five games and is averaging a season best 8.1 ppg. A native of Hondo, Texas, Gentry has started all 18 of the Patriots' affairs and recent string has given him six contests with double-digits in the scoring column. He clinched a career-high 22 points in a 92-88 loss against Texas A&M Commerce at the Burg Center earlier on the campaign.

SCOUTING LCU – The Chaps are winners of their last three and carry an 11-6 record, including 6-5 Heartland conference, into Thursday's night contest. Lubbock Christian won the first two of a four-game home stand to improve to 6-3 in the friendly confines, with its most recent a three-point, 85-82, victory over UA Fort Smith.
 
Tyler Rogers paced a quartet of players for LCU in double figures as he tied a career-best 21 points. Anthony Brancato, Isaac Cardona, and Jeremy Ford all added double-digit performances with 16, 14, and 12 points, respectively.
 
The Chaps shot a solid 85-percent from the free throw line and relied on an 8-for-10 effort in the second half to close out a huge win over the second place team in the Heartland.
 
Eli Baker boasts a team-high 14.5 ppg and leads four LCU individuals above the double-digit mark in season average totals. AJ Luckey follows with 12.6, while Saturday's top scoring duo Rogers and Brancato are dropping in 11.8 and 10.8 ppg, respectively.
 
SERIES HISTORY – Both programs met earlier in the campaign as DBU edged the Chaps in a thrilling 61-59 win at the Burg Center to open Heartland Conference action. The nail-biter finish was surprising after the Patriots went into intermission with a 35-20 lead.
 
LCU responded with an 11-2 spurt in the second frame and made a strong comeback attempt late in regulation. The home squad outscored the Chaps 4-2 in the final 1:54 minutes as DBU withstood a potential game-winning trifecta that missed its mark with time expiring.
 
Gipson claimed a game-high and season-best 19 points in the victory going 6-of-8 from the floor. Senior, Remy Ndiaye, delivered a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, contributing 16 points. Baker and Luckey were the only players to reach double figures for the Chaps tossing in 14 apiece.
 
That meeting in Dallas, Texas was the first in history these squads faced off versus each other. LCU continues to move through its inaugural campaign in the Heartland, while the Patriots are eyeing the final tournament seed for the Heartland Conference Tournament with seven league contests left.  
 
HEARTLAND NUMBERS – Both teams have seen changes in the direction their seasons have gone since tipping off in the league opener nearly two months ago. Despite the Patriots sitting 4-7, the Men's Basketball Team has played better of late, capturing victories in three of their last five.
 
DBU has utilized the turnover margin in many of its games won this season, and remains a top three squad in the league rankings coming into the week. The Patriots are placed in third with a plus 2.11 margin as they've forced 14.8 while committing a clip of 12.7. Their total of 229 turnovers surrendered ranks third in the Heartland Conference as fewest just behind Lubbock Christian, 225, and Oklahoma Christian, with a league-low 188.
 
The Chaps are top five in the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense. They're scoring at an 83.1 ppg clip good enough for fourth place overall, and are limiting opposing offenses to 70.4 ppg. LCU's defensive effort ranks them second in the league just behind St. Mary's who have allowed the lowest scoring per game at a 68.3 mark.
 
Thursday's opponent for the Patriots also sits second in the Heartland shooting 51-percent from the field and 41-percent from behind the three-point arc. DBU isn't hitting at the same high percentage, but does average 8.2 three pointers per contest to hold second in the league.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE – Dallas Baptist concludes the road swing at Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday for a 2 PM tip. Next week the Patriots open a trio of games at the Burg Center, as the final home stand begins Feb. 13 with UA Fort Smith. Tip-off for that contest is slated at 7 PM.