8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20
Abe Lemons Arena
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University entertains defending NAIA champion Oklahoma Baptist.
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 autographed Oklahoma City Thunder pennant among other prizes. Shirts will be on sale for $10 with all money going towards Nothing But Nets. Mention Nothing But Nets when you buy your ticket at the game, and half of the ticket price goes towards the cause.
ABOUT THE STARS: USAO edged OCU 63-62 on Saturday in Chickasha, Okla. The Stars (11-7, 4-6 Sooner Athletic Conference) rallied from a 13-point deficit. Dee Proby nailed a 3-pointer with 18.1 seconds remaining to make it a 63-62 game, but the Stars failed to capitalize on USAO's missed one-and-one free-throw opportunity.Proby, a 6-foot-10 senior from Round Rock, Texas, gave OCU 15 points and four rebounds Saturday. Proby sank 6 of 8 free throws. Proby averages 12.6 points and 4.2 rebounds game.
Brandon Moton, a 6-3 junior from Beaumont, Texas, scored 12 points off the bench. Moton provides OCU with 12.8 points and 2.8 assists a game. Nate Flowers, a 6-5 senior from Waldorf, Md., chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and three steals. Flowers leads OCU with 13.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, ranking sixth nationally and No. 1 in the SAC in rebounding.
OCU ranks second in the NAIA with a 51.1 percent field-goal percentage and third with 18.9 assists per game. To see where OCU stacks up statistically in the NAIA, click here.
The Stars were unranked 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 11 times.
OCU has the advantage 61-46 over Oklahoma Baptist in the all-time series. The Stars nipped Oklahoma Baptist 69-67 on Jan. 23, 2010 at Abe Lemons Arena. Corey Bingham sank the winning free throws with 2.8 seconds left in the game.
ABOUT THE BISON: Oklahoma Baptist knocked off Northwestern Oklahoma State 70-65 on Saturday in Shawnee, Okla. Oklahoma Baptist (13-4, 7-2 SAC) outscored Northwestern 20-4 in the final four minutes to rally.
Maurice Foster, a 6-3 senior, spearheaded Oklahoma Baptist with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Foster averages 17.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.12 steals a game. Emmanuel Wilson, a 6-3 junior, added 15 points and three 3-pointers. Wilson posts 11.8 points and 4.3 rebounds game. Kevin Swinton, a 6-8 senior, averages team highs with 18.2 points and 7.9 rebounds a game. Oklahoma Baptist leads the NAIA with a 52.9 percent field-goal percentage and 43.6 percent 3-point shooting clip.
Oklahoma Baptist is ranked 11th in the NAIA. SAC coaches expected Oklahoma Baptist to finish second in the conference during the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey has posted a 43-33 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.
Doug Tolin brought Oklahoma Baptist its first national championship since 1966 last season. Tolin has led OBU to a 294-76 record and 10 consecutive national-tournament appearances in his 11th season. Tolin's overall coaching record stands at 614-302 in 33 years as a head coach.
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.
Check out OCU's 2010-11 men's basketball media guide 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 calls the action, while Andrew Himes adds 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. Oklahoma Baptist." Then either enter a user name and password or select "Sign up for a new all-access subscription."
