Men's Basketball 12/12/2013 2:16:00 PM

OCU at Southern Nazarene men's basketball preview

Jamil Donovan is averaging 3.6 points and 2.4 assists this season.

5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14
Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University hits the road to take on former Sooner Athletic Conference rival Southern Nazarene in a final tune up before the start of conference play.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU, 3-3 on the season, returns the floor after a two-week layoff due to icy weather. In their last time out, the Stars fell 85-63 to Central Oklahoma on Nov. 30 at Hamilton Field house in Edmond, Okla.
Center Terrence Walker led the Stars with 18 points and nine rebounds against Central Oklahoma. The 6-foot-8 senior from Jonesboro, Ark., averages 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Walker leads the Stars in field goal percentage (0.58) and blocked shots per game (1.17).
Fellow senior Terry Johnson followed with 13 points, four assists and two steals against the Bronchos. The 6-foot guard from Chicago is averaging 15.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game so far this season. Johnson leads OCU in points (15.3), assists (2.8) and steals (1.67) per game.
Jamaal Crayton, a senior from Augusta, Ga., added 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the 85-63 loss. The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season. Crayton leads the Stars with 6.5 rebounds per contest.
OCU ranks ninth in NAIA Division I men's basketball with 4.5 blocks per game. The Stars have been projected to finish fourth in the SAC by league coaches. OCU owns six NAIA national championships won in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU owns a 37-22 record in the all-time series with Southern Nazarene. In the last meeting between the two, the Crimson Storm edged the Stars 76-70 on Jan. 19, 2012 at the Sawyer Center.

ABOUT THE CRIMSON STORM: Southern Nazarene topped Northwestern Oklahoma State 83-76 on Dec. 7 at Percefull Fieldhouse in Alva, Okla. The Crimson Storm enters Saturday's contest at 4-4 on the season.
Quan Conner led Southern Nazarene past the Rangers with 30 points, on 50 percent shooting from 3-point range, and four steals. The 6-foot-2 guard is averaging 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season.
C.J. Smith added 26 points and eight rebounds against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The 6-foot-2 guard averages 24.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
L.B. Willis chipped in with 10 points on 100 percent shooting from the floor in 26 minutes of action against the Rangers. The 6-foot-1 guard averages 9.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.
Southern Nazarene was slated to finish ninth in the Great American Conference in the league's preseason coaches' poll.

ABOUT 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.
Adam Bohac enters his sixth season at Southern Nazarene. He has guided the Crimson Storm to a 111-51 record in his first five seasons as head coach. Bohac led Southern Nazarene to a 15-13 mark in its first year against NCAA Division II opponents. Bohac was an assistant at SNU from 2004-07 and an assistant at Army in 2007-08.

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: Southern Nazarene will provide live stats and live video for the contest. Follow the game via live stats by clicking here. Watch the live stream video by clicking here.

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