LAWTON, Okla. – The Aggies men's basketball team looks to turn things around in the second half of the season as they travel to Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M this weekend. Cameron will head into Lubbock, Texas, on Friday, Dec. 30, at 7:30 pm to take on LCU. CU kicks off the new year in Canyon, Texas, when they face WT on Sunday, Jan. 1 at 3:00 pm.
STARTING 5:
1. The Aggies fell 71-59 to rival Midwestern State inside the Aggie Gym to close out the first half of the season. DeSean Munson made 7-of-10 shots from the floor to lead CU with 14 points, and Reggie Prudhomme scored 13. Jaden Okon recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
2. The Black-and-Gold has three averaging double-figures, led by DeSean Munson (11.4 ppg), Reggie Prudhomme (10.9 ppg), and Jaden Okon (10.2 ppg). Cameron has the fifth-best field goal percentage in the LSC and is the third-best defensive rebounding team.
3. LCU comes into the matchup at 7-3, in the middle of a three-game winning streak. Mackenzie leads four Chaps averaging double-figures with 19.3 points per game, Russell Harrison (13.9 ppg), Najeeb Muhammad (10.2 ppg), and Aaron Gonzales (10.1 ppg).
4. WT comes into the weekend at 6-4 overall on the season after falling to Top 25 programs Missouri-St. Louis, 83-81, and Dominican, 83-82, at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas. Damion Thornton leads four Buffs with 17.4 points per game. Julius Brown is next with 15.3 ppg, Larry Wise averages 14.3 ppg, and Zach Toussaint scores 12.4 ppg.
5. The island nation Kiribati in the Central Pacific is the first location to ring in the new year each year.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Aggies fell 71-59 to rival Midwestern State inside the Aggie Gym to close out the first half of the season. Cameron held as much as an eight-point lead in the first half before MSU closed the gap and went into the break with a four-point advantage. The Mustangs would hold the lead for the entire final 20 minutes. DeSean Munson made 7-of-10 shots from the floor to lead CU with 14 points, and Reggie Prudhomme scored 13. Jaden Okon recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES:
Cameron now sits at 2-9 and 0-4 in the LSC after dropping a 71-59 game to Midwestern State on Dec. 17. They are averaging 71.5 points per game while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor, the fifth-best in the LSC and 34.4 percent from three. They also grab the third most defensive rebounds a game, 26.5. CU makes 11.3 free throws per game and hits them at a 69.3 percent clip. Defensively, the Aggies are giving up 77.4 points to their opposition while allowing teams to shoot 43.4 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from three. Cameron has three averaging double-figures, led by DeSean Munson (11.4 ppg), Reggie Prudhomme (10.9 ppg), and Jaden Okon (10.2 ppg).
SCOUTING THE CHAPS:
LCU comes into the matchup at 7-3, in the middle of a three-game winning streak. Over the break, the Chaps knocked off Le Moyne in the Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas. Rowan Mackenzie led Lubbock Christian with 20 points and seven rebounds. They would shoot 48.4 percent from the floor in the first half, taking a 12-point lead into the break. The Chaps fell behind 7-0 early but responded by scoring 10 straight points to take the lead, which they never surrender. Mackenzie leads four Chaps averaging double-figures with 19.3 points per game, Russell Harrison (13.9 ppg), Najeeb Muhammad (10.2 ppg), and Aaron Gonzales (10.1 ppg).
LAST TIME AGAINST LCU:
The last time the two teams met was in a double overtime thriller, which saw Cameron upsetting the third-ranked Chaps 89-85. Colt Savage and Brock Schreiner scored a team-high 20 points in the win, and Savage recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds. The Aggies shot 47 percent from the field for the entire game while going 6-25 from three and 13-20 from the charity stripe, well off their usual 72 percent. They also dominated the glass 51-38, which included 16 offensive rebounds leading to 20 second-chance points. Lubbock took the early lead in the second OT, but three straight points by Savage put CU up 84-83. Parker Hicks answered with two more free throws, but Schreiner hit a dagger three with 24 seconds left to put the Black and Gold up two. Schreiner then grabbed a key defensive rebound on LCU's next possession and sunk a pair of foul shots with eight seconds left to put CU up 89-85.
SCOUTING THE BUFFS:
The Buffs moved to 6-4 overall on the season after falling to Top 25 programs Missouri-St. Louis, 83-81, and Dominican, 83-82, at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas. Four Buffs averaged double figures in the losses, led by Damion Thornton with 18.5 points per contest, followed by Larry Wise (17.5), Julius Brown (16.0), and Zach Toussaint (12.0). West Texas scores 81.8 points a game while allowing 74.9. Thornton leads four Buffs with 17.4 points per game. Brown is next with 15.3 ppg, Wise averages 14.3 ppg, and Toussaint scores 12.4 ppg.
LAST TIME AGAINST WT:
Second-half struggles led to the Aggies falling 104-64 at No. 17 West Texas A&M. Cameron shot 46 percent from the field as a team but went 3-16 from three while making 15 of their 19 free throw attempts. WT shot nearly 57 percent from the field in the win, won the rebounding battle 35-27, turned CU over 24 times, and scored 37 points off those turnovers. Individually, Connor Slater led CU with 18 points, going 7-15 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe. Colt Savage added 16 points and was perfect from the foul line (6-6), while Brock Schreiner added 11 points, and freshman John Muhammad had a career-best 10 points to go along with five rebounds.
WHO HAS NEXT:
The Aggies will return home to host Eastern New Mexico on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7:30 pm, before closing out the first week of the new year with Western New Mexico on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 3:00 pm.
