Men's Basketball 12/30/2011 3:42:00 PM

OCU at Oklahoma Christian men's basketball preview

Cory Nicholson averages 6.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Stars.

5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31
Eagles Nest in Oklahoma City

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University travels across town to take on Sooner Athletic Conference rival Oklahoma Christian in this season's first installment of the Backyard Brawl.

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars enter the contest 6-2 on the season and 3-1 in SAC play after a three-week layoff. OCU dropped Mid-America Christian 78-68 at Abe Lemons Arena on Dec. 8. Sophomore Tim Morton led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Evangels. The Forward from Capital Heights, Md., shot 60 percent from the floor in 24 minutes of action. Morton leads the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game and is second in rebounding with 6.7 boards per game.
Point guard Charlton Jones chipped in with 15 points against Mid-America Christian. The junior from Katy, Texas, shot 65 percent from the floor and added three rebounds and two assists in the contest. Jones leads the team in assists with 6.3, and steals with 1.63 per game.
Orlan Jackman, of London, posted 12 points and nine rebounds in the 78-68 win. The senior forward shot 50 percent from the floor and added three blocks in 33 minutes. Jackman averages 10.3 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 7.3 per game.
The Stars are currently ranked fifth in NAIA Division I in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 36 percent shooting from the floor. Jones is ranked ninth in the nation in assists per game with 6.3. To see how the Stars stack up statistically with the rest of the nation, click here.
OCU received a vote in the latest NAIA Davison I rankings. Concordia (Calif.) currently sits atop the rankings. The Stars were picked to finish seventh in the SAC in the preseason.
OCU owns a 47-18 all-time record against Oklahoma Christian. In their last meeting The Stars downed the Eagles 64-55 in overtime at the Eagles Nest on Feb. 5.

ABOUT THE EAGLES: Oklahoma Christian, 2-2 in SAC play, blew out Dallas Christian 94-67 on Wednesday to improve to 8-3 on the season. Junior Will Reinke led the way with 16 points, five rebounds and four blocks in the contest. Reinke averages 14.8 points per game and scored 28 points against St. Gregory's on Dec. 1.
Willie Harper posted 16 points on 60 percent shooting from the floor against Dallas Christian. The freshman averages 7.9 points per game and has scored in double figures four times for the Eagles including a 22-point outburst against Crowley Ridge (Ark.)
Junior Brandon Troutman pitched in with 15 points and six assists against Dallas Christian. Troutman shot 55 percent from 3-point distance and 45 percent from the floor in the contest.
The Eagles are ranked second in the nation in defensive rebounds per game at 33.4 and fourth in total rebounds per game with 45. Oklahoma Christian was picked to finish fourth in the SAC in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps enters his first season as a head coach with OCU. Phelps took over the Stars after serving as assistant coach for Oklahoma. Phelps has been a part of four conference title teams as well as three NCAA Tournament teams during his 22-year coaching career. Phelps played for Texas Lutheran, eventually joining the Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame.
Dan Hays has guided Oklahoma Christian to a 603-329 record in his 29th season as the Eagles' head coach. Hays, an NAIA hall of Famer, has led OC to six conference championships and eight national-tournament appearances. His overall coaching record stands at 741-437.

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 http://www.youtube.com/ocustars.
Be sure to catch the OCU Athletics Update video program weekly on ocusports.com, the OCU YouTube Channel or on the 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.
Know when the game is happening by calling the OCU athletics hotline at (405) 208-5400.

ON THE AIR: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio, stats and video of Stars' games. Greg Merick and Eric Rodgers will call the game. To access the live audio for the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Click here to watch Oklahoma Christian's live video and here for live stats.

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