8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9
Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University continues its march through early conference play with the second matchup of the season against Mid-America Christian.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU (9-1, 3-0) beat Lubbock Christian (Texas) handily in a 79-56 win on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU was highlighted by owning a 44-24 advantage in points in the paint and shot 50.0 percent from the field in the contest.
Dee Proby, a 6-foot-10 senior from Round Rock, Texas, led all scorers with 24 points and five rebounds. He was 11-of-18 from the field. Proby is averaging 13.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest for the Stars.
Brandon Moton, a 6-3 junior from Beaumont, Texas, added 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Stars. Twelve of his 22 points came from beyond the arc, where he was 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Moton is averaging 13.5 points, 3.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
Nate Flowers, a 6-5 senior from Waldorf, Md., notched a double-double in the game, going for 14 points and 10 rebounds against Lubbock Christian. He also added five assists and four steals for the Stars. Flowers is averaging a team-high 14.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 65.6 percent from the field for OCU. Flowers ranks second in the NAIA for defensive rebounds per game (8.6), seventh for total rebounds per game (11.1) and sits in sixth for hitting 65.6 percent of his field goal attempts.
The Stars' hot start resulted in a jump into the NAIA rankings this week in the 19th spot after receiving votes in the preseason polls. The Stars rank first in NAIA Division I in assists per game (21.5) and rebound margin (15.6). Their scoring margin of 30.7 points sits in second in the NAIA and a 53.1 percent field goal percentage is third nationally. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
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.
OCU owns a 11-1 all-time record against Mid-America Christian. In their last meeting, the Stars picked up a 77-73 victory over the Evangels on Nov. 23 at Abe Lemons Arena.
ABOUT THE EVANGELS: Mid-America Christian (3-4, 1-2) picked up its first conference win against Wayland Baptist on Saturday. The Evangels cruised to a 82-62 victory. Mid-America Christian's bread and butter was defense and rebounding where they forced 27 turnovers and outrebounded the Pioneers 14-6 on the offensive glass.
Mid-America Christian had four players in double-figures on Saturday. Brandon Williams, a 5-10 junior, led the Evangels with 17 points in the contest. Williams is averaging 15.3 points and 2.00 steals per game to lead the team.
George Haynes, a 6-9 junior, put in 13 points and contributed a team-best nine rebounds for Mid-America Christian. Haynes averages 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest for the Evangels. John Shodipo, a 6-6 senior, chipped in 12 points and Bradley Cosby, a 6-0 junior, added 10 points in the Evangels' win.
Mid-America Christian was picked to finish ninth in the Sooner Athletic Conference in the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey has posted a 41-27 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.
Willie Holley is in his 37th season coaching at Mid-America Christian. Holley has a 722-470 career record. An NCCAA hall of famer, Holley guided Mid-America to NCCAA Division II titles in 1998, 2003, 2004 and 2007.
QUOTEABLE: “Now we get ready for Mid-America and finish out the semester. We have to be prepared because we have yet to win a road game.” – Morrissey
FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on OCU athletics through several ways.
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.
ON THE AIR: The game will be broadcast via the OCU athletics web site. Greg Merick will call the action, while Andrew Himes provides analysis. Click here to listen to the broadcast. Click here to view Mid-America Christian's live video of the game and here for the live stats.
