3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29
Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University hopes for a road-win trifecta as the Stars play Wayland Baptist on Saturday.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU is fresh off a 76-72 victory at Lubbock Christian on Thursday. The Stars are in the midst of a two-game winning streak after finishing off St. Gregory's last weekend. OCU won these two tight games by seven combined points. OCU improved to 13-8, 6-7 on the season.
Orlan Jackman, a 6-foot-6 junior from London, led the game scoring with 19 points. Jackman, who joined the squad five games ago, is averaging 10.8 points and 3.8 rebounds, sinking 60.6 percent of his shots from the field.
Nate Flowers, a 6-5 senior from Waldorf, Md., continued on his tear of double-doubles with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Flowers has posted 12 double-doubles this season and leads the team with averages of 13.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.24 steals a game. Flowers rebounding skills put him at fourth in the nation and first in the SAC with 217 total boards.
Kaleb Smith and Brandon Moton both added 10 points for the Stars. Smith, a 6-5 freshman from Choctaw, Okla., chips in 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds a night for the Stars. Moton, a 6-3 junior from Beaumont, Texas, contributes 11.8 points, 2.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game.
OCU ranks third in the NAIA with 381 assists as a team this season and fourth nationally with a 50.5 percent field-goal percentage. 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 holds a 34-10 all-time series advantage over the Pioneers. In their last meeting, the Stars posted a 71-62 win over the Pioneers on Dec. 2 at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU was led to victory by a 16-point performance by Johnny Stephene.
ABOUT THE PIONEERS: Wayland Baptist hit the 90-point mark for the first time this season on Thursday at Hutcherson Center snapping a seven-game losing streak in the process with a 90-78 victory over Mid-America Christian.
Four Pioneers scored in double figures, paced by Rodrigo Silva's 19 points. Silva, a 6-8 junior, averages 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. George Williams, a 6-5 junior, added 17 points in the high-scoring affair. Williams puts up a team-high 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds on average.
Bobby Watkins, a 6-5 junior, posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Watkins contributes 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds a night for the Pioneers. C'Jamarion Leashore, a 5-11 junior, had a season-high 14 points in the victory. Leashore contributes a team-high 4.5 assists to go with 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds for Wayland Baptist.
Wayland Baptist was picked to finish 10th in the SAC according to the preseason coaches' poll.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Kevin Morrissey has posted a 45-34 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.
Robert Davenport hasled Wayland Baptist to a 66-74 record in his fifth season in Plainview, Texas. Davenport has previously been head coach at Texas-Pan American, LeTourneau (Texas) and Missouri Baptist. Davenport is a graduate of conference foe Oklahoma Baptist.
QUOTEABLE: “It was a nice win Thursday, but we need to focus on Wayland Baptist. They have had close games all year and are better than their record would indicate. We need to continue to limit turnovers and opponent's offensive rebounds. Our entire team needs to be focused and determined to beat Wayland Baptist on the road.” - Morrissey
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.
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. 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: To watch Wayland Baptist's live video stream, click here.
