Men's Basketball 1/29/2014 4:29:00 PM

OCU vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God men's basketball preview

Stars face fourth-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God

Ivan Matip chipped in eight points and five rebounds against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Jan. 13 in Waxahachie, Texas.

8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University squares off with Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas), which reached No. 1 in the national rankings last week.
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: The Stars suffered a 71-70 setback to USAO on Saturday in Chickasha, Okla. Jahseth Lloyd sank free throws with three seconds left for the winning points. OCU went to 10-7, 6-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
R.J. McGhee, a 6-foot-6 senior from Baton Rouge, La., posted 21 points, three rebounds and three 3-pointers against USAO. McGhee supplies OCU with 17.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.56 steals a contest.
Terry Johnson, a 6-foot senior from Chicago, produced 13 points and four rebounds. He banked in a running 3-pointer from near halfcourt as time ran out. Johnson averages 16.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.35 steals a game. Dorion Gigger, a 6-4 freshman from Moore, Okla., had nine points, eight rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. Gigger chips in 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
OCU ranks 24th in NAIA Division I with 3.29 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.
Southwestern Assemblies of God prevailed 68-63 on Jan. 13 in the first meeting ever between the two teams. Jamaal Crayton had 13 points and five rebounds for OCU. McGhee's 3-pointer with 21 seconds left cut the Stars' deficit to 63-61.

ABOUT THE LIONS: Southwestern Assemblies of God trounced Ecclesia (Ark.) 107-76 on Monday in Springdale, Ark. SAGU (17-2, 9-1) established a season high in points while sinking 58.2 percent of its shots from the field to bounce back from its first loss in league play at Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Jan. 23.
Jonathan Walter, a 6-4 junior, led his team with 19 points while going 8-for-9 from the floor. Walter averages 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.54 steals a game. Caleb Feemster, a 6-6 junior, and Dominique Rambo, a 5-10 senior, each had 15 points for SAGU. Rambo totals 23.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.73 steals a contest.
Southwestern Assemblies of God slipped to fourth in the newest rankings. SAGU ranks fifth in the NAIA with 9.53 3-pointers made per game. SAC coaches predicted Southwestern Assemblies to finish second in the conference in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 39-33 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.
Donnie Bostwick has a 77-18 record in his third season with Southwestern Assemblies of God. Bostwick led the Lions to the NAIA Division I Tournament title game a season ago. He also won the 2009 NAIA Division II championship with Oklahoma Wesleyan, where he went 120-20 in four seasons.

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.

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 follow the game via live audio, stats or video, 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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