8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27
Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University begins its two-game road trip into Texas by facing Lubbock Christian (Texas).
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU edged St. Gregory's 68-65 for the Stars' first road win of the season Saturday in Shawnee, Okla. Shane Rogers gave the Stars (12-8, 5-7 Sooner Athletic Conference) the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 2:20 to go in the game. St. Gregory's missed a potential game-tying trey as time ran out.Rogers, a 6-foot-4 junior from Flower Mound, Texas, recorded 13 points and two rebounds Saturday. He shot 5-for-7 from the field. Rogers contributes 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game.
Orlan Jackman, a 6-6 junior from London, had 13 points and four rebounds. Jackman has averaged 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds a game since debuting with the Stars on Jan. 13. Nate Flowers, a 6-5 senior from Waldorf, Md., supplied OCU with 13 points and four rebounds while hitting 6 of his 9 shots from the floor. Flowers tops OCU with 13.5 points and 10.3 rebounds a game, ranking sixth nationally and No. 1 in the SAC in rebounding.
OCU ranks third in the NAIA with 365 assists as a team this season and fifth nationally with a 50.5 percent field-goal percentage and 18.3 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 improved to 32-8 against Lubbock Christian all-time after a 79-56 victory over the Chaparrals on Dec. 4 at Abe Lemons Arena. Dee Proby led OCU with 24 points.
ABOUT THE CHAPARRALS: Lubbock Christian fell 80-76 to Oklahoma Christian on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. Oklahoma Christian shot 56.7 percent from the floor in the second half. Lubbock Christian went to 11-7, 6-6 in the SAC.
Kenny Hewitt, a 6-7 senior, became Lubbock Christian's all-time leading scorer by scoring 15 points, bringing his career total to 1,622 points. Hewitt provides Lubbock Christian with 16.4 points and 4.8 rebounds a game. Al Duvall, a 6-1 junior, had 18 points and three steals. Duvall averages 9.0 points and 1.5 rebounds game. Lubbock Christianleads the NAIA with a 76.0 percent team free-throw percentage.
SAC coaches expected Lubbock Christian to finish sixth in the conference during the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey has posted a 44-34 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.
John Copeland announced his resignation as Lubbock Christian coach after 31 seasons in that position effective at the end of the season. 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 462-431.
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.
OCU HOSTS THE SAC TOURNAMENT: The nation's premier NAIA basketball conference stages its postseason tournament at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University on March 3-5. You'll want to be part of the action as NAIA Division I Tournament berths will be at stake in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments. For information, visit the tournament page.
ON THE AIR: Lubbock Christian will provide live audio, scoring and video from the game. Click here to listen to, follow or view the game broadcast.
