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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Jamil Donovan

Men's Basketball

OCU at Texas Wesleyan men's basketball preview

Help SAC feed hungry, get into Thursday's game free with canned food item donation

Jamil Donovan's 4.2 assists per game rates sixth in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4
Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, Texas
 
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University will play in its 2014-15 Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Texas Wesleyan on the road.
Fans can get free admission to the game by bringing a non-perishable food item for the SAC holiday food drive.
 
ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City rallied past Central Oklahoma 109-97 on Nov. 21 in Edmond, Okla. The Stars (3-2) erased a 13-point deficit by finishing the game on a 28-6 rampage. Tharone Chilton provided 10 points of OCU's game-changing 14-0 run, capping the splurge with a 3-point play to give the Stars a 95-89 lead with 4:32 left.
Chilton, a 6-foot-2 senior from Tulsa, Okla., stood front and center for OCU with a game-high 24 points. Chilton hit 8 of 12 shots from the field and all six of his free-throw attempts. He posts 16.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game in 2014-15.
Dorion Gigger, a 6-5 sophomore from Oklahoma City, supplied OCU with a career-high 22 points while grabbing five rebounds. He shot 9-for-12 from the floor and sank two 3-pointers. Gigger contributes 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds a contest. R.J. McGhee, a 6-6 senior from Baton Rouge, La., added 22 points, four rebounds and four treys. In NAIA Division I, McGhee ranks fifth with 23.2 points a game, seventh with a 53.1 percent 3-point shooting percentage and ninth with 3.40 3-pointers per game.
OCU sits seventh in the NAIA with 8.80 3-pointers and 31.0 defensive rebounds per game. To see how OCU ranks among the national leaders, click here.
Oklahoma City received votes in the preseason national rankings. The Stars have been projected to finish fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference by league coaches. OCU owns six NAIA national championships won in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
Texas Wesleyan has the lead in the all-time series 9-8. Oklahoma City built a 19-9 early lead in gaining the 85-78 victory Feb. 22 in Fort Worth, Texas and the season series sweep in the most recent meeting between the two teams. Texas Wesleyan edged OCU for the 2006 NAIA championship 67-65 on March 21, 2006.
 
ABOUT THE RAMS: Texas Wesleyan downed Dillard (La.) 73-61 on Nov. 29 in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas Wesleyan improved to 8-0 for its finest start since an 11-0 beginning to the 2010-11 campaign.
Sam Akano, a 6-5 junior, powered Texas Wesleyan with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Akano generates 19.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game. Merv Lindsay, a 6-7 junior, had 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Lindsay averages 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.
In the preseason, Texas Wesleyan has been ticketed for a seventh-place finish in the SAC according to league coaches.
 
ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a 48-40 record in his fourth 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.
Brennan Shingleton has led Texas Wesleyan to a 43-28 record in his third season as head coach. Shingleton spent 10 years as a Texas Wesleyan assistant before ascending to the top job.
 
QUOTABLE: "I really am proud of our guys to show some resilience and some resolve and continuing to fight. I wanted to see us come out and defend for 40 minutes no matter what the score is and just compete. I'm proud of our guys for that." – Phelps on the Stars' victory over Central Oklahoma
 
FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest from OCU athletics through several ways.
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.
Fans can sign up to receive OCU Athletics SMS text message alerts, including the latest score updates and headlines from the Stars, by going here.
Fans can sign up to receive the latest OCU athletic headlines via e-mail by going here.
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. To listen to the game, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Andrew Himes will provide the play-by-play.
Texas Wesleyan will also provide live stats.
 
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Players Mentioned

Dorion Gigger

#32 Dorion Gigger

F
6' 5"
Sophomore
R.J. McGhee

#1 R.J. McGhee

F
6' 6"
Senior
Tharone Chilton

#11 Tharone Chilton

G
6' 2"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Dorion Gigger

#32 Dorion Gigger

6' 5"
Sophomore
F
R.J. McGhee

#1 R.J. McGhee

6' 6"
Senior
F
Tharone Chilton

#11 Tharone Chilton

6' 2"
Senior
G