8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23
Abe Lemons Arena
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University takes on undefeated Oklahoma Baptist inside Abe Lemons Arena.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 students and free to OCU students, faculty and staff with their ID.
OCU athletics and the Wesley Center on campus will hold a fundraiser for Nothing But Nets. Fans can donate $1 towards Nothing But Nets for a chance to win an Oklahoma City Thunder team ball among other prizes. Shirts will be on sale for $10 with all money going towards Nothing But Nets. There will be a celebrity free-throw shootout during halftime of the men's game.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU knocked off St. Gregory's 85-69 on Thursday evening in Shawnee, Okla., for its third consecutive conference road win. The Stars (8-5, 6-4 in Sooner Athletic Conference) outscored St. Gregory's 50-38 in the second half to pull away.
Cory Nicholson, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Harrah, Okla., had his best outing of the season with 18 points and five rebounds to lead the Stars. Corey Bingham, a 6-3 junior from Lynn, Mass., added 17 points and six rebounds. Bingham averages 13.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
Jerome Phillips, a 6-5 senior from Chickasha, Okla., had 13 points and eight rebounds. Phillips records 9.5 points and 6.9 rebounds a game. Kavon Lytch, a 6-7 junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Chris Brown, a 6-foot senior from Spencer, Okla., chipped in 11 points each. Brown leads the team in scoring at 19.8 points per game.
In the preseason, the Stars were picked to finish sixth in the Sooner Athletic Conference. OCU has captured the SAC regular-season crown 13 times.
OCU leads the all-time series against Oklahoma Baptist 60-46. Oklahoma Baptist topped OCU 88-75 on Dec. 3 in Shawnee, Okla. Phillips led the Stars with 16 points, while Brown had 13 points and five assists.
ABOUT THE BISON: Oklahoma Baptist picked up a 97-81 road victory over Mid-America Christian on Thursday in Oklahoma City. OBU (18-0, 10-0 in the SAC) is one of three unbeaten teams in NAIA Division I. Oklahoma Baptist finished the game on a 13-2 run after Mid-America closed to within five points with 3:08 remaining in the game.
Nate Brumfield, a 6-5 senior, led the Bison with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Brumfield leads the SAC and ranks third nationally with 23.2 points per game. He also leads the NAIA in field-goal percentage at 72.9 percent. A.J. Hawkins, a 6-5 senior, totaled 22 points in the game. Hawkins averages 18.9 points and 5.4 rebounds on the season.
Oklahoma Baptist is ranked third in NAIA Division I. SAC coaches picked Oklahoma Baptist to win the conference.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey is his first full season as OCU head coach. Morrissey spent the previous 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 a 266-69 record and nine consecutive national-tournament appearances in his 10th season. Tolin's overall coaching record stands at 586-295 in 32 years as a head coach.
QUOTABLE: “I think we're a lot better with the addition of Jeremy McCarty and Kavon Lytch. I anticipate it being a good game, I anticipate it being a game where every possession is going to count and hopefully we will come out ready to play.” – Morrissey on the Oklahoma Baptist game
FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on OCU athletics through several ways.
Become a fan of the Oklahoma City University Stars on Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/ocustars.
Become a follower of the OCU Stars on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ocustars.
Check out video of the Stars in action at www.youtube.com/oklahomacityuniver.
Listen to past game broadcasts and pregame and postgame interviews on the OCU pod center by clicking here.
Know when the game is happening and get scores and highlights following by calling the OCU athletics hotline at (405) 208-5400. Get conference scores and highlights by calling the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.
ON THE AIR: OCU games will be broadcast regularly via the OCU athletics web site. Greg Merick will handle the play-by-play, and Andrew Himes will provide commentary. Click here to listen to the broadcast.
To watch the game live, click here and get the package labeled "vs. Oklahoma Baptist." To follow the game on live stats, click here.
