Men's Basketball 1/4/2013 2:46:00 PM

OCU vs. USAO men's basketball preview

Tim Morton leads the Stars with 5.3 rebounds per outing.

5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5
Abe Lemons Arena

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University returns home to take on Sooner Athletic Conference foe USAO in a battle of top-25 teams.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students. OCU students, faculty and staff get in free to all Stars regular-season home events with their university ID.

ABOUT THE STARS: 22nd-ranked OCU had a tough shooting night against John Brown (Ark.) and fell 66-61 on the road Thursday. The loss moved the Stars to 7-2 overall and 0-1 in SAC play.
Terry Johnson paced the Stars' efforts with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists against the Golden Eagles. The senior guard from Chicago shot 42 percent from floor and converted 4-of-5 chances from the foul line. Johnson is fifth in NAIA Division I in free throw percentage shooting 87 percent from the charity stripe.
Point guard Charlton Jones also netted 17 points in the loss. The senior from Katy, Texas, grabbed five rebounds and snatched three steals. Jones leads the team and the SAC in assists with 7.1 per game and is ranked fifth in NAIA Division I in assists per game.
Senior Elhadji Wade added 10 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes of action. The center from Dakar, Senegal, shot 50 percent from the floor and swatted two blocks on the night. Wade posted double-digit points for the third consecutive game this season.
OCU is ranked fifth in NAIA Division I in free-throw percentage (0.76) and guard Jamil Donovan is first in the nation in assists/turnover ratio (15.0). To see how the Stars stack up against the rest of the NAIA, click here.
The Stars are ranked 22nd in the latest NAIA rankings. OCU has been predicted to finish fifth in the SAC 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 leads the all-time series against USAO 30-15. The Drovers and Stars split their two meetings a season ago, and USAO took the final contest 77-69 on Feb. 21, 2012 at Abe Lemons Arena.

ABOUT THE DROVERS: USAO, ranked No. 14 in NAIA Division I, knocked off No. 9 Rogers State 78-71 Thursday at USAO Fieldhouse to improve to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in SAC play.
Norris Rumph sparked the Drovers with 28 points, four assists and four rebounds against the Hillcats. The 6-foot-2 guard hit 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line and shot a blazing 72 percent from the field. Rumph is third in NAIA Division I in 3-point percentage (0.54) and fourth in assists/turnover ratio (4.4).
Shavon Scott followed with 10 points and three assists in the 78-71 victory. The 6-foot-3 guard averages 9.6 points per game on 50 percent shooting on the season. Scott has scored in double figures four times this season.
Leading scorer Brandon Cutler struggled with foul trouble, and notched six points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. The 6-foot-8 center averages 17.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. Cutler is ranked 22nd in the NAIA Division I in field goal percentage shooting 55 percent from the floor.
The Drovers are first in NAIA Division I in assists/turnover ratio (1.4) and 13th in assists per game (16.1). USAO was picked to finish sixth in the conference by league coaches.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps has led the Stars to a 19-17 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.
Brisco McPherson has guided USAO to a 300-321 record in 22 seasons and led the Drovers to the NAIA title in 2002. He picked up his 300th win Thursday against Rogers State. McPherson also serves at USAO's athletic director.

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.

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 will be the voice of the Stars in 2012-13 after previously providing commentary on the OCU broadcasts. To access the live audio, stats or video for the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
The live audio and stats will be provided free of charge, while the cost to see the video will be $7.95 per game. A men's basketball season pass that allows you to see all the Stars' 2012-13 home games costs $29.95, while an 2012-13 all-sports pass costs $79.95.

Print Friendly Version