2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27
Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University concludes its regular season with a road game against Lubbock Christian (Texas). OCU can lock up the third seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament with a win.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU lost 73-69 to Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Thursday in Plainview, Texas. The Stars (16-8, 14-7 Sooner Athletic Conference) shot 55.9 percent in the game and outrebounded Wayland 30-20. OCU also held a 36-12 advantage in the paint.
Wayland went on a 19-5 run in the second half to build a 67-62 lead 2:09 remaining. Chris Brown hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 67-65 with 1:31 left, but Wayland converted all six of its free throws down the stretch.
Kavon Lytch, a 6-foot-7 junior from Brooklyn, N.Y., paced OCU with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Lytch averages 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds a game.
Jeremy McCarty, a 6-7 junior from Houston, chipped 15 points, while Bryant Williams, a 6-9 junior from Austin, Texas, had 14 points. McCarty records 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds. Brown, a 6-0 senior from Spencer, Okla., scores a team-high 17.2 points per game.
The Stars rank fifth in NAIA Division I in blocked shots per game (5.25) and ninth in total blocks (126). Williams leads the SAC and ranks fifth nationally with 2.38 blocks per game. Williams ranks eighth with 57 total blocks.
OCU is ranked 14th in NAIA Division I. 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 has a 30-8 lead in the overall series against Lubbock Christian. The Stars edged Lubbock 60-53 on Jan. 2 inside Abe Lemons Arena. Brown led all scorers with 23 points.
ABOUT THE CHAPARRALS: Mid-America Christian topped Lubbock Christian 74-71 on Thursday in Lubbock, Texas. Lubbock (13-14, 8-13 SAC) committed a season-high 23 turnovers, including two in the final 14 seconds. Lubbock has now dropped six games in row and eight of its last nine. Lubbock will be the eighth seed in next week's conference tournament.
Kenny Hewitt posted his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Lubbock. Hewitt, a 6-7 junior, averages 16.4 and 4.7 rebounds a game. Benoit Bekono added 14 points and seven rebounds. Bekono is averaging 7.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Lubbock Christian was expected to finish eighth in the SAC in the preseason by conference coaches.
POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS: OCU and Oklahoma Christian enter the final day of the regular season tied for third place in the SAC. The Stars hold the tiebreaker against Oklahoma Christian because of head-to-head record. With a win against Lubbock, OCU will wrap up the third seed in next week's SAC Tournament. With a loss against Lubbock and an Oklahoma Christian victory at Rogers State, OCU will be the four seed. If both OCU and Oklahoma Christian lose, OCU will be the third seed.
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.
John Copeland is in his 30th season as Lubbock Christian coach. Copeland has led the Chaparrals to three national-tournament appearances, guiding Lubbock Christian to the NAIA quarterfinals in 2001. Copeland has a head-coaching record of 451-412.
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. To get conference scores and highlights, call the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.
ON THE AIR: Live stats, live audio and live video will be available for this contest. Click here for the live game tracker, here for live audio and here for streaming video.
