8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1
Abe Lemons Arena
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University resumes Sooner Athletic Conference play with a New Year's Day tilt against Rogers State.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 students and free to OCU students, faculty and staff with their ID.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU came from behind to knock off York (Neb.) 88-79 on Wednesday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (10-2, 3-1 SAC) overcame a seven-point deficit, trailing from the 9:03 mark of the first half until 18:12 remaining in the game. OCU built a 15-point second-half lead.
Brandon Moton, a 6-foot-3 junior from Beaumont, Texas, posted 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. Moton shot 8-for-15 from the field and canned three 3-pointers. Moton records 13.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game.
Dee Proby, a 6-10 senior from Round Rock, Texas, had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Proby hit 6 of his 12 shots from the floor. Proby averages 13.5 points and 3.8 rebounds a game. Nate Flowers, a 6-5 senior from Waldorf, Md., came off the bench to contribute 14 points and four rebounds. Flowers tops OCU with 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds a game, ranking fifth in NAIA Division I in rebounding.
OCU ranks No. 1 in the NAIA at 21.6 assists a game. The Stars have the third best field-goal percentage in the nation at 52.5 percent. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars were at No. 21 in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. OCU has been picked to finish fifth in the SAC according to league coaches. Six-time national champion OCU has captured the SAC regular-season crown 13 times.
Rogers State holds a 4-3 advantage over OCU in the all-time series. Rogers State eliminated the Stars from the SAC Tournament 68-57 on March 4 in Bethany, Okla.
ABOUT THE HILLCATS: Rogers State dropped an exhibition 85-48 to Houston on Thursday at Hofheinz Pavilion. Rogers State (5-6, 1-3 SAC) failed to hit a trey, missing all 14 of its 3-point attempts. Houston scored the game's first eight points.
John Boyd, a 6-5 senior, had a team-high 12 points. Boyd averages 18.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 0.70 blocked shots a game, the latter two team highs. Deveric Taylor, a 6-2 senior, became the only other Hillcat to reach double-digit scoring with 10 points. Taylor scores 18.8 points per game.
Rogers State had been projected to finish seventh in the league according to the preseason SAC coaches poll.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey has posted a 42-28 record in his third season at OCU. 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.
Justin Barkley elevated to the head-coaching position this season after serving as assistant coach for two seasons at Rogers State. He played on Northeastern State's 2003 NCAA Division II championship team and a state championship team at Inola (Okla.).
QUOTABLE: “You can't pick and choose the times to go hard. We have to get better to have a chance to compete in the postseason.” – Morrissey on the Stars' defense Thursday
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.
Be sure to catch the OCU Athletics Update video program weekly on ocusports.com, the OCU YouTube Channel or on OCU Athletics' Facebook page. Click here to see the latest edition or see our video channel in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.
Listen to past game broadcasts and pregame and postgame interviews on the OCU pod center by clicking here.
Know when the game is happening 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: The game will be broadcast via the OCU athletics web site. Greg Merick serves as the voice of the Stars, while Andrew Himes will provide color commentary. Click here to listen to the broadcast, here for the live stats and here to access the video stream.
To order the video on ocusports.com/showcase, click on "Women's Basketball vs. Rogers State." Then either enter a user name and password or select "Sign up for a new all-access subscription."
