Men's Basketball 2/17/2012 12:01:00 PM

OCU at John Brown men's basketball preview

Shane Rogers had eight points, six rebounds and three assists, including a feed to Orlan Jackman on the game-tying basket Thursday.

5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18
Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University meets top 25-ranked John Brown (Ark.) in a road Sooner Athletic Conference clash.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU nipped fifth-ranked Rogers State 65-64 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena using Orlan Jackman's 3-point play with eight seconds left. The Stars (12-11, 9-10 SAC) held Rogers State to 42.1 percent shooting from the field (24-for-57).
Jackman, a 6-foot-6 senior from London, posted his team-high eighth double-double this season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jackman leads OCU with 13.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 0.74 blocked shots a game. His rebounding ranks third in the SAC and 27th nationally. Jackman averaged 26.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in the Stars' two meetings against Rogers State this season.
Charlton Jones, a 6-1 junior from Katy, Texas, registered 10 points, seven assists and three steals. Jones tallies 12.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.48 steals per game. Kaleb Smith, a 6-5 sophomore from Choctaw, Okla., came off the bench to produce nine points and two rebounds. Smith averages 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds.
OCU ranks 21st nationally holding opponents to 40.5 percent shooting from the floor. To see how the Stars stack up statistically with the rest of NAIA Division I, click here.
The Stars are unranked in the latest NAIA Division I rankings. OCU are tied for seventh in the league standings after being predicted to finish seventh in the SAC in the preseason.
OCU holds a 24-12 advantage in the overall series against John Brown. The Stars shaded John Brown 70-67 on Jan. 7 at Abe Lemons Arena. Jones made the difference on a jumper in the lane with seven seconds remaining as part of a 22-point, nine-assist outing.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Mid-America Christian stopped John Brown's eight-game winning string with an 87-59 win Thursday in Oklahoma City. John Brown (21-6, 13-6 SAC) had a season-high 33 turnovers.
Adrian Miller, a 6-4 senior, turned in 13 points and six rebounds. Miller picks up 15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds a game. E.J. McWoods, a 6-foot junior, had 13 points and committed 10 turnovers. He averages 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds a contest.
SAC coaches expected 13th-ranked John Brown to finish sixth in the conference.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps is in the midst of his first season as a head coach with OCU. 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 22-year coaching career. Phelps played for Texas Lutheran, eventually joining the Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame.
Clark Sheehy has a 107-60 record in his fifth year at John Brown. The son of former John Brown coach John Sheehy, Clark became a two-time all-conference selection playing for his father at John Brown. Prior to returning to his alma mater, Sheehy spent two seasons at the helm at Fresno Pacific (Calif.) and five seasons assisting at NCAA Division I Texas State.

QUOTABLE: “We have to regroup and stay focused to take care of OCU. We have to be prepared.” – Phelps on the game Saturday

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: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio, stats and video of the Stars' games. Greg Merick will provide the play-by-play, while Eric Rodgers will give the commentary. To access the live audio for the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
JBU will provide live stats and video of the game. To watch the game, click here, or to follow the game via live stats, click here.

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