FORT SMITH, Ark. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Men's Basketball will host St. Edward's Tuesday in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. at Gayle Kaundart Arena at the Stubblefield Center.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for non-UAFS students. UAFS students are free with their student ID and the first 100 students will receive a free medium pizza. Tickets can be purchased at the UAFS Box Office.
All 11 men's basketball championship games will be broadcast exclusively on the LSC Digital Network at www.lonestarconferencenetwork.com or the LSC Digital Network OTT app. Fans will be able to purchase an LSC Basketball Championship Day Pass for $10 that will provide access to all 2022 basketball tournament games broadcast that day and archived games from earlier rounds.
Live stats will also be available at uafortsmithlions.com with the game broadcast on Fox Sports Radio 103.5, as well.
The winner of the matchup between the eighth-seeded Lions and ninth-seeded Hilltoppers will go on to face top-seeded Lubbock Christian Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. UAFS finished the regular season 14-12, 8-6 LSC, while St. Edward's went 16-11, 9-7 LSC.
The Lions won the lone regular season meeting, 74-69, just three weeks ago in Austin. It was the last loss for the Hilltoppers, who have won four in a row. Five Lions scored in double figures in the win.
Tuesday's matchup features two of the top three leading scorers from the LSC, with guard Matthew Wilson leading the league at 20.7 points per game and Daniel Venzant of St. Edward's averaging 16.9 points per game. SEU also has the number five scorer in Uche Dibiamaka at 16.6 points per game. UAFS also features forward Chris Rollins, who averages 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
St. Edward's boasted the fourth highest scoring offense in the league at 78.6 points per game, while the UAFS defense ranked second at 65.2 points per game. UAFS and SEU were second and third in assist/turnover ratio, respectively.
Tickets to the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship are available as single-session passes. Prices are $15 for adults and $12 for students. Each single-session ticket includes two tournament games and is redeemable for the specified session only. Tickets can be purchased at the Comerica Center Box Office or online through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) now through the end of the tournament. Tickets purchased on Ticketmaster are subject to additional fees and taxes. No additional fees will be applied to tickets purchased at the Comerica Center Box Office.
The winner of the tournament will be named the Lone Star Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Champions and earn the league's automatic qualification to the 2022 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional held March 12-13-15 at a site to be determined. The winner of the South Central Region will advance to the Elite Eight to be held March 22-23-25 in Evansville, Ind.
2022 LSC Men's Basketball Championship, Comerica Center, Frisco, Texas
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 (first round games on-campus)
No. 12 Texas A&M-Kingsville at No. 5 Texas A&M-Commerce, TBA (at Commerce, Texas)
No. 11 UT Tyler at No. 6 Midwestern State, TBA (at Wichita Falls, Texas)
No. 10 UT Permian Basin at No. 7 Angelo State, TBA (at San Angelo, Texas)
No. 9 St. Edward's at No. 8 UAFS, TBA (at Fort Smith, Ark.)
Thursday, March 3, 2022 (Comerica Center, Frisco, Texas)
SESSION ONE
Game 1: Noon, No. 3 DBU vs. Men 6-11 winner
Game 2: 2:30 p.m., No. 2 West Texas A&M vs. Men 7-10 winner
SESSION TWO
Game 3: 6 p.m., No. 1 Lubbock Christian vs. Men 8-9 winner
Game 4: 8:30 p.m., No. 4 St. Mary's vs. Men 5-12 winner
Saturday, March 5, 2022 (Comerica Center, Frisco, Texas)
SESSION FIVE
Game 9: Noon, Men Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 10: 2:30 p.m., Men Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Sunday, March 6, 2022 (Comerica Center, Frisco, Texas)
SESSION SEVEN
Game 13: 1 p.m., Men's Championship: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
