Men's Basketball 11/16/2012 11:13:00 AM

OCU at Central Oklahoma men's basketball preview

Charlton Jones tops the Sooner Athletic Conference with 8.3 assists per game.

2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17
Hamilton Field House in Edmond, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University has a rematch against Central Oklahoma in the second of a home-and-home series this season.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students (ages 5-17) and seniors (60+), with Central Oklahoma students, faculty and staff admitted free with valid ID.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU rallied past Southwestern Adventist (Texas) 79-68 on Saturday, Nov. 10 in Keene, Texas. The Stars built advantages of 31-16 in points off turnovers and 54-34 in points in the paint.
Terrence Walker, a 6-foot-8 junior from Jonesboro, Ark., posted 15 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots Saturday. Walker contributes 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds a game.
Troynell Adams, a 6-4 senior from Chicago, produced 14 points and seven rebounds. Adams owns averages of 12.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. Ivan Matip, a 6-3 junior from Ojai, Calif., added 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench. Matip chips in 11.0 points and 8.3 rebounds a game.
OCU ranks third in NAIA Division I with a 77.6 percent team free-throw percentage. To see how the Stars rank among national statistics, click here.
The Stars received votes in the preseason NAIA Division I rankings. OCU owns six national championships won in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008. OCU was picked to finish fifth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference in the preseason.
OCU holds a 24-20 advantage in the overall series against Central Oklahoma. Central pulled away for the 81-77 victory Nov. 8 at Abe Lemons Arena after Shawn Grant nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game 67-67 with 5:58 remaining in the game.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: Central Oklahoma knocked off future SAC member Southwestern Christian 88-70 on Thursday in Edmond, Okla. UCO built a 22-7 advantage seven minutes into the game en route to the win.
Josh Gibbs, a 6-5 junior, accumulated 18 points, four rebounds and four 3-pointers. Gibbs, a transfer from Sam Houston State, had 20 points and four rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting from the field on Nov. 8 vs. OCU in a game considered an exhibition by Central. Spencer Smith, a 6-6 senior, chipped in 14 points and six rebounds, while Seth Heckart, a 6-foot redshirt freshman, had 14 points, five rebounds, six assists and seven steals, the latter of which fell one theft shy of UCO's single-game record.
Central Oklahoma is picked to finish seventh in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps enters his second season as OCU coach. Phelps took over the Stars after serving as assistant coach for Oklahoma, which featured future No. 1 NBA Draft pick Blake Griffin during his tenure. Phelps has been a part of four conference title teams as well as three NCAA Tournament teams during his 23-year coaching career. Phelps played for Texas Lutheran, eventually joining the Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame.
Terry Evans enters his 11th season as the Bronchos' head man. Evans owns a record of 209-90 and has led Central Oklahoma to seven NCAA Division II national tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight appearance. As a player, Evans is the all-time leader in 3-point field goals and assists at Oklahoma.

QUOTABLE: “I thought the UCO game, we were down, fought our way back into it and tied the game up. We had an opportunity to actually win it. Shot goes in, we win, I look like a genius and the player looks like he's great. Shot doesn't go in, I take the blame, which is okay. The thing is, we went out and tried to compete.” – Phelps

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/ocustars.
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.
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: Central Oklahoma will provide a live video stream as well as live stats. To watch the game, click here. To follow the game via live stats, click here.

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