5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20

Abe Lemons Arena

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University meets cross-town rival Southern Nazarene in a matchup of top-20 teams at Abe Lemons Arena.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students. Admission is free for all OCU athletic events to OCU faculty, staff and students with their ID.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU edged USAO 68-63 on Thursday in Chickasha, Okla. to improve to 14-7, 12-6 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Jerome Phillips sealed the game with a layup that gave OCU a five-point lead with 28 seconds remaining. The Stars held a huge advantage in bench points, outscoring USAO 28-8.

Kavon Lytch, a 6-foot-7 junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., sparked OCU off the bench with 18 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Lytch is averaging 14.4 points and 8.1 rebounds a game.

Jeremy McCarty, a 6-7 junior from Houston, added 15 points. McCarty averages 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds. Phillips, a 6-5 senior from Chickasha, Okla., totaled 13 points and eight rebounds. Phillips averages 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds. Chris Brown, a 6-0 senior from Spencer, Okla., provided 10 points and four assists. Brown leads the team in scoring with 17.2 points per contest.

OCU ranks seventh in NAIA Division I in blocked shots with 4.86 per game. Bryant Williams, a 6-9 junior from Austin, Texas, leads the SAC and ranks eighth nationally with 2.14 blocks per game.

The Stars are ranked 17th in the latest NAIA Division I poll. In the preseason, the Stars have been picked to finish sixth in the Sooner Athletic Conference. OCU has captured the SAC regular-season crown 13 times.

OCU is 36-18 all-time against Southern Nazarene. Southern Nazarene defeated the Stars 70-61 on Feb. 7 in Bethany, Okla. Brown led the way for OCU with 19 points.

ABOUT THE CRIMSON STORM: Southern Nazarene raced by Mid-America Christian 98-76 on Thursday in Bethany, Okla., to remain on top in the SAC. SNU moved to 23-4, 18-1 in the SAC with the victory.

Southern Nazarene went on a 21-4 run in the second half to pull away and claim its 14th consecutive win.

A.J. Thomas had 18 points and nine assists to pace the Crimson Storm. Thomas, a 6-0 junior, averages 14.1 points and 4.2 assists per game. Jeremy Lightfoot, a 6-9 junior, added 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Lightfoot is averaging 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. Xavier Alexander, a 6-6 junior, leads SNU with 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Southern Nazarene is ranked fifth in NAIA Division I. SAC coaches predicted Southern Nazarene would finish fourth in the conference in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey enters 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.

Adam Bohac has guided Southern Nazarene to a 43-16 record in his second season as head coach. Bohac was an assistant at SNU from 2004-07 and an assistant at Army in 2007-08.

QUOTABLE: “Kavon had a strong night. He is a good player, and he is getting better as time progresses.” – Morrissey on Lytch

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 results and highlights by calling the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.