Men's Basketball 1/22/2014 4:16:00 PM

OCU vs. Texas Wesleyan men's basketball preview

Stars entertain Texas Wesleyan in second consecutive home game

Kaleb Smith is averaging 10.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Stars.

8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University plays host to first-year Sooner Athletic Conference member Texas Wesleyan.
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 overcame a seven-point deficit with one minute and 17 seconds remaining and topped No. 21 Mid-America Christian 97-89 in overtime Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. The win improved the Stars' record to 9-6 overall and 5-3 in SAC play.
Forward R.J. McGhee paced OCU with 42 points and seven rebounds and provided the game-tying 3-pointer with six seconds left on the clock that sent the game to overtime. The 6-foot-6 senior from Baton Rouge, La., is averaging 17.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in January.
Senior Terry Johnson tallied 23 points on 50 percent from the floor and snagged six rebounds against the Evangels. The 6-foot guard from Chicago tops the Stars in points per game with 17.7 on 47 percent shooting. Johnson is averaging 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest to go along with his team-leading scoring average.
Kaleb Smith, a forward from Choctaw, Okla., chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds in 41 minutes of action. The 6-foot-5 senior leads the Stars with 1.60 steals per game. Smith averages 10.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing.
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.
Texas Wesleyan holds a 10-6 advantage over the Stars in the all-time series. The Rams upended OCU 55-47 on Nov. 23, 2009 at the Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

ABOUT THE RAMS: Texas Wesleyan edged Wayland Baptist (Texas) 75-71 at the Sid Richardson Center on Jan. 16 to improve to 10-6 overall and 4-3 in SAC play.
Jorge Redmon led the charge with 24 points and three steals against the Pioneers. The 5-foot-10 guard has scored over 20 points eight times this season and leads the Rams with 19.0 points per contest.
Deonte Jones added 13 points and five rebounds in the 75-71 victory. The 6-foot-1 guard averages 13.9 points per game and is fourth in NAIA Division I with 3.44 made 3-point field goals per outing.
Dallas Jones chipped in with 10 points and four boards on the night. The 6-foot-4 forward enters the contest at 13.9 points per game.
Texas Wesleyan is tops in NAIA Division I with 19.4 assists per game. The Rams have been slated to finish fifth in the SAC by league coaches.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 38-32 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.
Brennan Shingleton is in the midst of his second season as head coach of Texas Wesleyan. He spent 10 seasons as an assistant and associate head coach for the Rams prior to being named head man. During his time at Texas Wesleyan, Shinglton has helped the Rams to four Red River Athletic Conference titles and the 2005-06 NAIA Division I championship.

QUOTABLE: "I tell my players, you always have to ready because you never know when your number is going to be called. Whether it's an injury, hopefully we don't have to go through that anymore, or foul trouble you have to be ready. You have to be on the sideline and be locked into the game and ready to make a contribution." – Phelps on bench contribution against Mid-America 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: 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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