Men's Basketball 1/17/2014 1:53:00 PM

OCU vs. Mid-America Christian men's basketball preview

Stars entertain 21st-ranked Mid-America Christian

Terence Bonhomme contributed seven points and two assists Thursday.

5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University hosts top 25-ranked Sooner Athletic Conference foe Mid-America Christian. OCU will recognize its newest athletic hall of famers during a luncheon 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students, while OCU students, faculty and staff are allowed into all regular-season OCU athletics events for free with their ID. For the OCU athletics visitors guide, click here.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU downed Oklahoma Baptist 66-65 on Thursday in Shawnee, Okla. The Stars (8-6, 4-3 SAC) notched their first regular-season win over Oklahoma Baptist inside the Noble Complex since Feb. 15, 2007 as Terry Johnson provided the difference with a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds to go.
R.J. McGhee, a 6-6 senior from Baton Rouge, La., tallied 20 points, four rebounds and four 3-pointers. McGhee made his first start for the Stars and played a season-high 33 minutes. McGhee supplies OCU with 13.0 points and 3.8 rebounds a game as well as 40 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Johnson, a 6-foot senior from Chicago, rang up 17 points and three assists. He hit 6 of his 10 shots from the field. Johnson accumulates 17.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.57 steals per game. Jamaal Crayton, a 6-3 senior from Augusta, Ga., had 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Crayton collects 10.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.43 steals a game.
OCU ranks 23rd in NAIA Division I at 3.43 blocked shots per game. See how the Stars stack up statistically against the rest of the NAIA 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 holds a 14-3 advantage in its all-time series vs. Mid-America Christian. The Stars nudged past Mid-America 65-63 on Feb. 5, 2013 at the Gaulke Activity Center. Smith sank the game-winning basket with 1.1 seconds remaining to complete OCU's rally from 12 points down.

ABOUT THE EVANGELS: Mid-America Christian humbled Southwestern Christian 80-58 on Thursday in Oklahoma City. Mid-America Christian (9-4, 5-2) held Southwestern Christian to 30.8 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent 3-point shooting.
Angelo Lewis, a 6-4 senior, accrued 20 points and seven rebounds while sinking 9 of his 11 shots from the floor. Lewis averages 18.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.85 steals a game. Stephen Armstrong, a 6-7 senior, had 14 points and six rebounds. Armstrong contributes 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds a contest.
Mid-America holds No. 21 in this week's national rankings. Mid-America Christian averages 17.6 assists per game to rank fifth in the NAIA. Mid-America is expected to finish seventh in the 11-team SAC according to the league's preseason coaches poll.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 37-32 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.
Willie Holley is in his 41st season as head coach at Mid-America Christian. Holley has a career record of 778-506. He has led MACU to four NCCAA Division II national championships.

QUOTABLE: "I hope everyone in the country understands the Sooner Athletic Conference is a very challenging conference. You take a look, and we have four teams ranked at the national level, and we have one coming up Saturday. They're playing really well with a lot of confidence. It's just a tough league, but it's a very fun league. Everyone in the league is doing a great job competing. Any one of these teams could represent the league well." – Phelps

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: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio, stats and video of the Stars' games. Andrew Himes is the voice of the Stars. To access the live audio for the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here.
The live audio and stats will be provided free of charge, while the cost to see the video will be $7.95. A men's basketball season pass that allows you to see all the Stars' 2013-14 home games costs $29.95, while a 2013-14 all-sports pass costs $79.95.

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