8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22
Abe Lemons Arena
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University faces Sooner Athletic Conference rival Oklahoma Baptist, the fifth-ranked team in the NAIA.
Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children. OCU students and faculty are admitted free into all Stars events with their ID.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU, the two-time defending NAIA Division I men's basketball champion, fell short to John Brown 71-70 on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark. Richard Jackson paced the Stars (11-6, 4-5 Sooner Athletic Conference) with 25 points and three steals. He went 10 of 13 from the field and 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point line.
Jackson, a 6-foot senior from Bronx, N.Y., averages 18.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 57.1 percent from the floor.
Jamel White added 20 points, three assists and two steals to the Stars' effort. White, a 6-4 junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., averages 15 points, five boards and 3.4 assists per game. DaVell Jackson, a 6-1 junior from Las Vegas, adds 9.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.71 steals a game.
The three-time defending conference champion Stars were favored to win another league title in the preseason. The Stars rank 10th in the NAIA in rebounding margin at 8.4 a game.
OCU leads the series against Oklahoma Baptist 60-43. The Stars defeated Oklahoma Baptist 88-60 on Feb. 14, 2008 at Abe Lemons Arena in the last meeting.
ABOUT THE BISON: Oklahoma Baptist improved to 15-2, 8-1 in the SAC after defeating Wayland Baptist 100-56 on Saturday at the Noble Complex, giving the Bison their 10th consecutive win. Brent Jones, a 6-foot senior, led OBU with 24 points, seven assists and four steals.
Emmanuel Wilson, a 6-3 freshman, added 22 points, while Al Moore, a 7-foot junior, scored 13. Charles Carter led the OBU defense with eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
Carter, a 6-9 senior, is ranked third in the NAIA in blocked shots, averaging 2.77 per game. Nate Brumfield, a 6-5 junior, is scoring a team-high 21.6 points a game since joining the team Dec. 20.
Oklahoma Baptist allows the lowest points per game in the NAIA at 56.7 points a game and is second in field-goal percentage, shooting 53.4 percent as a team.
OBU is ranked fifth in the most recent NAIA rankings and was picked to finish second in the conference according to league coaches in the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey embarks on his first season as OCU head coach. Morrissey spent the past four seasons as St. Gregory's coach. He also has been an assistant at Missouri State and Texas-Pan American. Morrissey played his college ball at Oklahoma Baptist and Oral Roberts and high school at Bishop McGuinness in Oklahoma City.
Doug Tolin has led Oklahoma Baptist to eight appearances in the NAIA Division I Tournament in eight years leading the Bison. Tolin was named SAC coach of the year in 2002 and 2003. He has led the Bison to a 216-67 record, three conference regular-season titles and two conference tournament titles.
QUOTABLE: “Rich's first game back against Northwestern was not a good shooting performance, but ever since that day he's been in the gym working on his game and his shot. It's resulted in the points that he's scored the last two games against Rogers State and John Brown. He had 25 points on 13 shots against John Brown, and that's impressive.” – Morrissey on Richard Jackson
OCU ATHLETICS PODCENTER NOW AVAILABLE: If you want to listen to past game broadcasts and pregame and postgame interviews with Coach Morrissey, go to the OCU athletics prodcenter. Go here, then iTunes will open. Then click on athletics and men's basketball.
GIVE THE HOTLINE A CALL: Fans can follow the Stars via the OCU Athletic Hotline at (405) 208-5400. Get the score and highlights after the game on the hotline.
ON THE AIR: Fans can follow the Stars via live audio on the OCU web site. Greg Merick will be the play-by-play announcer, while Andrew Himes will be the analyst. Click here to listen to the broadcast. Go here for the live stats.
All of OCU's home basketball games will be video streamed live on the internet. Go here for details.
