Men's Basketball 2/29/2012 2:58:00 PM

OCU vs. Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball preview

Stars bid to play spoiler against No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Baptist

Charlton Jones averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 assists in two meetings against Oklahoma Baptist this season.

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals
8 p.m. Thursday, March 1
Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University takes on No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Baptist in a rematch of the teams' regular-season finale.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU fell 79-69 to Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (12-14, 9-13 SAC) picked up the eighth seed in the conference tournament due to a 3-1 record against Mid-America Christian and Northwestern Oklahoma State, who tied with OCU at 9-13 in league play. Troynell Adams' 3-pointer cut OCU's deficit to 63-61 with 5:20 left in the game.
Orlan Jackman, a 6-foot-6 senior from London, posted his ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Jackman, a second-team all-SAC choice, compiles team highs in scoring (13.3 points a game) and rebounding (8.3).
Charlton Jones, a 6-1 junior from Katy, Texas, totaled 14 points and five assists while playing all 40 minutes. Jones, who took honorable-mention all-league honors, collects 12.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.58 steals a contest. Kaleb Smith, a 6-5 sophomore from Choctaw, Okla., aided OCU in posting a 20-6 advantage in points off the bench with 11 points and three 3-pointers. Smith averages 4.1 points and 1.8 rebounds a game.
Jones ranks 11th nationally and third in the conference in assists per game. 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 owns eight SAC Tournament championships won in 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008.
OCU leads the overall series against Oklahoma Baptist 61-51. Oklahoma Baptist ousted the Stars from the 2011 SAC Tournament by a count of 84-71 on March 3, 2011 at Abe Lemons Arena.

ABOUT THE BISON: Oklahoma Baptist wrapped up its third consecutive league regular-season title. No. 1-ranked OBU (26-3, 19-3 SAC) shot 60 percent from the field in the first half and finished at 50.9 percent shooting.
Heath McKay, a 5-11 senior, tallied 27 points, nailing seven 3-pointers. McKay averages 10.7 points, 2.4 assists and 1.15 steals a game. Derick Echols and Jacobi Isham added 15 points each.
Emmanuel Wilson, who had five points Saturday, shared the SAC player of the year award with USAO's Kyle Hunt. Wilson scores a team-high 17.1 points a game. Oklahoma Baptist ranks second in the NAIA with an 18.0-point victory margin.

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.
Doug Tolin has guided Oklahoma Baptist to a 331-84 record and the 2010 NAIA title in his 12th season. Tolin's overall coaching record stands at 651-310 in 34 years as a head coach.

QUOTABLE: “I tell our guys all the time, when it comes to conference tournament time, the games are going to be close. The first half never truly dictates what the whole game is going to be, so as long as we keep swinging and we keep fighting, you can put yourself in a position to have a chance to win. We are fortunate to be in, and we are excited to be in and we are not going to take this opportunity for granted.” – Phelps on making the SAC Tournament

ABOUT THE SAC TOURNAMENT: The nation's premier NAIA basketball conference stages its postseason tournament at Bill George Arena on March 1-3. NAIA Division I Tournament berths will be at stake in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments presented by Meisner Aircraft. For information, visit the tournament page.

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: JBU will provide live stats and video of each tournament game. JBU offers video at $7.95 per game and $24.95 for a tournament pass.
To watch the game, click here. To follow the game via live stats, click here. Keep up with all the tournament games via live stats by clicking here.

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