Men's Basketball 1/2/2013 1:25:00 PM

OCU at John Brown men's basketball preview

Stars visit John Brown in SAC debut for both teams this season

Jamil Donovan contributes 1.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.00 steal a game for OCU.

8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3
Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University aims to remain unbeaten on the road this season in its 2012-13 Sooner Athletic Conference opener against John Brown (Ark.).

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU held off Northwood (Texas) 68-58 on Dec. 20 in Cedar Hill, Texas. The Stars (7-1) built a 16-point lead in the second half, but Northwood cut its deficit to five points as OCU shot only 27.3 percent from the field in the second half. OCU improved to 4-0 in away contests this season.
Charlton Jones, a 6-foot-1 senior from Katy, Texas, provided the Stars with 17 points, five rebounds and nine assists. Jones knocked in two free throws as OCU sank 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute. Jones records 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.25 steals per game.
Terry Johnson, a 6-foot junior from Chicago, chipped in 16 points, four rebounds and two 3-pointers. Johnson has accumulated 12.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.75 steals a contest. Elhadji Wade, a 6-9 senior from Dakar, Senegal, added 12 points and five rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Wade's turnaround jumper with 1:48 left pushed OCU's lead to 59-52. Wade averages 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds a game.
OCU ranks fifth in NAIA Division I with a 75.6 percent free-throw percentage and ninth with 16.5 assists a game. Jamil Donovan has the nation's top assist-to-turnover ratio at 15.0-to-1. To see how OCU stacks up against the rest of the NAIA statistically, click here.
The Stars are ranked 22nd in the latest NAIA rankings. OCU has been predicted to finish fifth in the Sooner Athletic Conference by league coaches. OCU has won or shared the SAC regular-season championship 12 times in 1987, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008. OCU has won six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU owns a 24-13 all-time record against John Brown. John Brown edged the Stars 71-68 on Feb. 18, 2012 in Siloam Springs, Ark., in the last meeting between the two teams. Troynell Adams spearheaded OCU with 14 points and five rebounds, hitting a jumper with four seconds left that cut the Stars' deficit to 69-68.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Trinity Western (British Columbia) knocked off John Brown 88-78 on Dec. 19 in Oceanside, Calif. John Brown (11-3) fell behind as Trinity Western reeled off a 17-6 run to begin the second half.
Coleson Rakestraw, a 6-2 senior, rang up a career-high 28 points, nailing 6-of-7 from 3-point range and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Rakestraw posts 11.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game. Abel Galliguez, a 5-8 senior, had 13 points, three rebounds and two steals. Galliguez averages 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds. John Brown's 14.69 rebounding margin and 27.5 percent 3-point field-goal percentage allowed rank second nationally.
SAC coaches expected John Brown to finish third in the conference in the preseason. John Brown received votes in the latest national poll.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps has led the Stars to a 19-16 record in 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.
Clark Sheehy has a 121-66 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.

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. Andrew Himes serves as the voice of the Stars. To access the live audio for the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
John Brown will provide live stats and video of the game. To watch the game, click here, and to follow the game on live stats, go here.

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