Men's Basketball 2/10/2014 3:02:00 PM

OCU vs. Southwestern Christian men's basketball preview

Stars have 7-2 record inside Abe Lemons Arena this season

Terrence Walker chipped in 10 points and four rebounds Saturday.

8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University aims to repay Southwestern Christian for a December loss in a Super Tuesday Sooner Athletic Conference matchup.
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 rallied for an 86-76 victory over John Brown (Ark.) on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark. OCU (12-8, 8-5 in SAC play) seized the lead with a game-turning 18-3 run midway through the second half. The Stars overcame a 12-point deficit after John Brown hit its first five 3-pointers of the game.
R.J. McGhee, a 6-foot-6 senior from Baton Rouge, La., poured in a game-high 26 points to go with two rebounds and two steals Saturday. McGhee hit 8 of 13 shots from the field and 8 of 8 free throws. He supplies OCU with 18.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.50 steals an outing.
Kaleb Smith, a 6-5 senior from Choctaw, Okla., added 12 points and two steals. Smith averages 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.65 steals per game. Terence Bonhomme, Jamaal Crayton and Terrence Walker contributed 10 points each. Crayton, a 6-3 senior from Augusta, Ga., contributed six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
OCU hits 71.4 percent of its free-throw attempts as a team to rank 22nd among NAIA Division I. To see how the Stars stack up statistically with the rest of the NAIA, click here.
The Stars received votes in the most recent NAIA Division I top-25 poll. 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 Christian nipped OCU 82-79 on Dec. 17 in Bethany, Okla., in the first meeting ever between the two schools in men's basketball. Terry Johnson topped the Stars with 20 points. Johnson's 3-point attempt at the buzzer hit off the rim.

ABOUT THE EAGLES: St. Gregory's erased a 14-point deficit to prevail 84-81 over Southwestern Christian on Saturday in Shawnee, Okla. Jason Vierra hit a 3-point shot with 2:49 left to give St. Gregory's the lead for good and deal Southwestern Christian (6-15, 2-12) its third loss in a row.
Tyler Inman, a 6-5 senior, led all scorers with 23 points while reeling in eight rebounds. Inman shot 9-for-11 from the floor. Inman averages 10.4 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. Tyler Turner, a 6-2 junior, had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Turner leads the Eagles with 14.8 points to go with 5.1 rebounds per game.
Southwestern Christian sinks 10.57 3-pointers per game to rank second nationally. SAC coaches expected Southwestern Christian to finish 10th in the conference.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 41-34 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.
Quinn Wooldridge has led Southwestern Christian to a 16-36 record in his second season at the helm. His college head-coaching record is 25-57 including a one-year stint as University of the Southwest (N.M.) head coach. Wooldridge served as head coach at Edmond North High School and spent two seasons as an assistant coach at OCU prior to becoming the Southwestern Christian head man. Wooldridge played at Oklahoma Baptist from 1995-99, ranking third in program history with 1,886 career points while setting career and season records for 3-pointers made and attempted.

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. Chris Cox will call the game. 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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