Men's Basketball 12/16/2013 2:43:00 PM

OCU at Southwestern Christian men's basketball preview

Stars play second consecutive game in Bethany, Okla.

Terence Bonhomme is averaging 7.3 points and 2.7 rebounds off the bench for the Stars.

8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17
Pickens-Springer Gymnasium in Bethany, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University jumps into Sooner Athletic Conference play with a road game against first-year conference member Southwestern Christian.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU topped former SAC rival Southern Nazarene 74-60 Saturday at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla. The win moved the Stars to 4-3 overall heading into SAC competition.
Senior Terry Johnson led the Stars past the Crimson Storm with 25 points, five rebounds and four assists. The 6-foot guard from Chicago shot 72.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point range against Southern Nazarene and increased his season field-goal percentage to 45 percent. Johnson leads OCU with 16.7 points, 3.0 assists and 1.57 steals per game.
Kaleb Smith, a senior from Choctaw, Okla., added 16 points, a game-high nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the 14-point victory. The 6-foot-5 forward went 6-for-11 from the field and snared at least five rebounds for the fourth time this season. Smith is averaging 11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.14 blocks per contest. Guard Jamaal Crayton chipped in with seven points, seven rebounds and three assists against Southern Nazarene. The 6-foot-3 senior from Augusta, Ga., shot 50 percent from the floor in 31 minutes of action. Crayton leads the Stars with 6.5 rebounds per outing.
OCU ranks eighth in NAIA Division I men's basketball with 4.43 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 and Southwestern Christian will face off for the first time in the history of both programs.

ABOUT THE EAGLES: Southwestern Christian, 4-3 on the season, will return to floor after a 26-day layoff. In their last outing, the Eagles topped Bethany (Kan.) 84-76 on Nov. 21.
Guard Tyler Turner led the Eagles past Bethany with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals. Turner is Southwestern Christian's second leading scorer averaging 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Guard Reggie Sloan followed with 18 points and four assists off the bench against the Swedes. Sloan leads the Eagles in assists and scoring averaging 15.3 points and 3.4 assists per contest.
Forward Austin Turner added 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the 84-76 victory. Turner averages 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per outing.
Southwestern Christian is ranked second in NAIA Division I with 11.0 made 3-pointers per game and fourth with 33.2 defensive rebounds per game.The Eagles were slated to finish 10th in the SAC by league coaches.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a head-coaching record of 33-29 in 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.
Quinn Wooldridge enters his second season at the helm of Southwestern Christian. Wooldridge led the Eagles to a 10-21 mark a season ago. He spent two seasons as an assistant coach at OCU and served as head coach at Edmond North High School prior to becoming the head man at Southwestern Christian. Wooldridge played four seasons at Oklahoma Baptist and is third on the all-time scoring list.

QUOTABLE: "Our first objective is to take care of ourselves. We'll get back and watch film and spend some time looking at some of our mistakes and making those adjustments. Then we'll get an opportunity to watch Southwestern Christian. They're a very good team and they are very well coached. Quinn [Wooldridge] does a great job with those guys. They've got height and they've got strength." – Phelps on preparing for Southwestern Christian

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: Southwestern Christian will provide fans the opportunity to follow the game via live video and live stats.

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