Men's Basketball 11/24/2013 9:37:00 AM

OCU at Midwestern State men's basketball preview

Stars take on sixth-ranked team in NCAA Division II

OCU ranks 12th in NAIA Division I allowing opponents to shoot 39.1 percent from the field.

7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25
D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University challenges nationally-ranked Midwestern State (Texas) on the road.
Tickets range from $15 for reserved floor tickets to $3 for general admission for active military with their ID. For ticket information, click here.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU suffered its first loss of the season 93-78 to Central Oklahoma on Nov. 14 at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (2-1) managed 38.6 percent shooting from the field.
Terry Johnson, a 6-foot senior from Chicago, delivered 20 points, five rebounds and three assists for OCU. Johnson cut OCU's deficit to 78-70 with 5:07 left in the game with a jumper from near the 3-point line. Johnson provides the Stars with 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.67 steals a game.
Terrence Walker, a 6-8 senior from Jonesboro, Ark., supplied OCU with 12 points and five rebounds while hitting 6-of-9 from the floor. Walker posts 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds a game. Jamaal Crayton, a 6-3 senior from Augusta, Ga., added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds on Nov. 14. Crayton averages 8.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.33 steals per game.
OCU stands fourth among NAIA Division I in team blocks per game at 5.00, while Dema Sane's 1.67 blocks a contest ranks 17th among the individual leaders. To see where OCU ranks among the national leaders statistically, click here.
The Stars received votes in the NAIA Division I preseason coaches' poll and have been projected to finish fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference by league coaches. OCU owns six NAIA national championships won in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU holds a 17-1 advantage vs. Midwestern State in the overall series, which dates back to the 1946-47 season. The Stars prevailed 75-55 over Midwestern State on Nov. 5, 2008 at Abe Lemons Arena in the last meeting between the two schools. OCU notched its fifth consecutive win over Midwestern. Midwestern State last defeated OCU 94-83 on Feb. 24, 1994 in Wichita Falls, Texas.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS: Midwestern State pummeled Missouri Western 82-64 on Nov. 16 in St. Joseph, Mo., to improve to 4-0. Cam Adderley's 3-pointer and layup keyed a 9-2 run that provided Midwestern State with a 34-26 lead with 5:03 left in the first half. Midwestern State had been scheduled to play USAO on Friday at home, but that contest has been rescheduled to Dec. 3 because of icy conditions in the Texhoma area.
Against Missouri Western, Monzaigo Williams, a 6-foot senior, had 16 points, four rebounds and four assists while dropping in 3 of 5 3-point shots. Williams tops Midwestern State with 20.3 points and 4.8 assists per game as well as a 50 percent 3-point shooting percentage. DeJuan Plummer, a 5-10 senior, pitched in 16 points while sinking 6 of 9 shots from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Plummer averages 16.3 points and 3.3 rebounds after sitting out the 2012-13 season.
Midwestern State rose to sixth in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II rankings. Midwestern has its highest national ranking since 1998-99. In the preseason, Midwestern State has been picked to finish second in the Lone Star Conference.

ABOUTH THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 31-26 his third season as OCU coach. He led the Stars to the SAC Tournament title and an NAIA Division I Tournament appearance in 2012-13. 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 five conference title teams as well as three NCAA Tournament teams during his 24-year coaching career. Phelps played for Texas Lutheran, eventually joining the Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame.
Nelson Haggerty enters his third year as Midwestern State coach. He boasts a 55-13 mark (.809) over the two seasons leading MSU to a pair of Lone Star Conference titles. The Mustangs advanced the Elite Eight in 2012 before falling to Metro State (Colo.) in the South Central Region finals last season. Haggerty served the previous two seasons as the top assistant at Midwestern as the Mustangs rolled to the Elite Eight in each of those campaigns.

FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on OCU athletics through several ways.
Help OCU win an NAIA contest and gain more followers on social media in 2013-14. 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: Midwestern State will provide fans with the chance to follow the game via live audio and live stats.

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