Men's Basketball 1/15/2014 4:28:00 PM

OCU at Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball preview

Dema Sane is averaging 4.1 points and 2.8 points per game for the Stars.

8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16
Noble Complex in Shawnee, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University concludes its three-game road swing with a trip to Shawnee, Okla. to take on Sooner Athletic Conference foe Oklahoma Baptist.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU saw its second consecutive upset bid come up short with a 68-63 loss to No. 2 Southwest Assemblies of God (Texas) at the Schaefer Center in Waxahachie, Texas. The loss moved the Stars to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in SAC play.
Guard Jamaal Crayton led the OCU charge with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes of action. The 6-foot-3 senior from Augusta, Ga., is averaging 10.7 points for the Stars this season. Crayton leads the Stars in rebounds (5.5) and assists (2.9) per game.
Fellow senior Terry Johnson followed with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals against the Lions. The 6-foot guard from Chicago leads the Stars with 17.3 points per contest. Johnson adds 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists to go along with his team-high in points per game.
Kaleb Smith, a senior from Choctaw, Okla., pitched in with 11 points and six rebounds in the loss. The 6-foot-5 forward averages 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per outing for the Stars. Smith leads OCU with 1.69 steals per game.
OCU is 15th in NAIA Division I with 3.6 blocked shots per game. To see how the Stars stack up with the rest of the NAIA statistically, click here.
The Stars have been picked to finish fourth in the SAC in the preseason coaches' poll. OCU has won national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU owns an all-time record of 62-44 against Oklahoma Baptist. In the last meeting between the two sides, The Stars knocked the Bison out of the SAC Tournament with a 64-60 victory on Feb. 28, 2013.

ABOUT THE BISON: Oklahoma Baptist fell 81-68 to Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Jan. 9 at the Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas. The Bison enter the contest at 7-7 overall and 1-3 in SAC play.
Aaron Abram paced the Bison with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 13 rebounds against the Pioneers. The 6-foot-5 forward leads Oklahoma Baptist with 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest.
Morris Woods followed with 17 points on 50 percent shooting in the loss to Wayland Baptist. The 6-foot-4 guard has appeared in six games this season and is averaging 22.0 points per outing.
Kendall Parks pitched in with seven points, five rebounds and four assists on the night. The 5-foot-9 guard is second in NAIA Division I with 93 total assists and third with 6.6 assists per game.
Oklahoma Baptist is ranked 12th in NAIA Division I in 3-point field goal percentage shooting 38 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The Bison were picked to finish first in SAC by league coaches.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 36-30 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 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.
Doug Tolin has guided Oklahoma Baptist to a 386-100 record and the 2010 NAIA Division I title in his 14 seasons at the helm. Tolin's overall coaching record stands at 706-326 in 36 years as a head coach.

QUOTABLE: "I'm very proud of the way he's been playing. He has made a conscious effort to make an impact in each statistical category which really helps us. The one thing about a good player like him is he is smart enough to know that if he is not making shots he has to contribute in another way." – Phelps on Smith

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. Get conference scores and highlights by calling the SAC Hotline at (405) 878-2110.

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 serves as the play-by-play man. To listen to the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
Oklahoma Baptist will provide fans the opportunity to follow the game via live video and live stats.

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