8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10
Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University takes on Sooner Athletic Conference rival Lubbock Christian (Texas) in the first of a two-game road trip in west Texas.
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU, ranked No. 22 in NAIA Division I, fell 66-61 on the road to No. 25 John Brown (Ark.) before knocking off No. 9 USAO 76-70 Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars are 8-2 on the season and 1-1 in SAC play.
Guard Terry Johnson notched 17 points against John Brown and followed with a career-high 26 points against USAO. The 6-foot junior from Chicago hit 4-of-5 from 3-point distance and shot 64 percent from the field against the Drovers. Johnson leads the Stars in points per game (14.6) and is ranked sixth in NAIA Division I in free throw percentage (0.87).
Senior Charlton Jones also posted 17 points against John Brown and fell short of a triple-double with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists against the Drovers. The 6-foot-1 guard from Katy, Texas, leads the Stars and the SAC in assists per game (7.1) and leads OCU in rebounds per game (5.4). Jones is ranked fifth in NAIA Division I in assists per game (7.1), 16th in assist/turnover ratio (2.6), 19th in free throw percentage (0.83) and 22nd in total assists (71).
Ivan Matip, a 6-2 junior from Ojai, Calif., was one rebound short of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards against USAO. The junior guard shot 57 percent from the floor and hit 50 percent from 3-point range. Matip averages 9.2 points and 4.9 assists per game and has scored double-digit points five times this season.
OCU is ranked sixth in NAIA Division I in free-throw percentage (0.75) and freshman-guard Jamil Donovan is first in the nation in assists/turnover ratio (20.0). 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 owns a 29-12 advantage in the all-time series with the Chaparrals. Lubbock Christian nipped the Stars 66-63 on Feb. 11, 2012 in Lubbock, Texas in their last meeting.
ABOUT THE CHAPARRALS: The Chaps enter the matchup with a 9-6 record overall and 2-1 record in SAC play. Lubbock Christian blasted St. Gregory's 88-59 Saturday at W.P. Wood Field House in Shawnee, Okla.
Leading-scorer Jabril Durham posted 14 points with four assists and four steals against St. Gregory's. The 6-foot-1 guard averages 12.7 points per game on 41 percent shooting from the field. Durham is 13th in NAIA Division I in total assists (78) and 14th in assists per game (5.2).
Forward Eli Baker posted 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting off the bench against the Cavaliers. The 6-foot-4 Baker averages 10.8 points per outing and leads the Chaps in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game.
Jamaal Crayton added 10 points on 50 percent shooting against St. Gregory's. The 6-3 junior guard averages 12.4 points per game and shoots 80 percent from the free throw line.
The Chaps are second in NAIA Division I in 3-point percentage (0.41) and 15th in field goal percentage (0.48). Lubbock Christian was picked to finish fourth in the SAC by league coaches.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps has led the Stars to a 20-17 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.
Todd Duncan enters his second season as Lubbock Christian coach after serving 15 years as Lubbock Trinity Christian School (Texas) boy's basketball coach and athletic director. He notched 400 wins and the 1999 state championship. Duncan led the Chaparrals to a 15-15 record a season ago.
QUOTABLE: “They made their minds up that they were going to compete, and I'm proud of those guys. Really more than anything I'm proud of their mental toughness to play as many minutes as they did.” – Phelps on his team's performance against USAO
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 by calling the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.
ON THE AIR: Lubbock Christian will provide live audio, stats and video of the game. Fans can follow the game by clicking here.
