3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15
Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University hits the road for a crucial Sooner Athletic Conference contest with Wayland Baptist (Texas).
ABOUT THE STARS: OCU topped Southwestern Christian 88-75 Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena to improve to 13-8 overall and 9-5 in SAC play. The win moved OCU into third place in the conference standings.
Senior R.J. McGhee spearheaded the Stars attack with 24 points and seven rebounds against the Eagles. The 6-foot-6 forward from Baton Rouge, La., leads the Stars with 18.0 points per outing during SAC play. McGhee has scored 15 points or more in six of his last eight games.
Fellow senior Kaleb Smith provided clutch 3-point shooting against Southwestern Christian and added 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. The 6-foot-5 forward from Choctaw, Okla., is averaging 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Stars. Smith leads the Stars with 1.67 steals per game.
Center Terrence Walker chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Stars. The 6-foot-8 senior from Jonesboro, Ark., leads OCU in field goal percentage, shooting 59 percent from the field this season. Walker averages 10.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest this season.
The Stars are 23rd in NAIA Division I in free throw percentage (0.71) while sophomore guard Jamil Donovan is 13th in assist/turnover ratio (2.62). To see how OCU stacks up statistically against 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.
OCU holds a 40-10 record in the all-times series with Wayland Baptist. In the last meeting between the two, the Stars toppled the Pioneers 83-62 on Jan. 2 at Abe Lemons Arena.
ABOUT THE PIONEERS: Wayland Baptist smashed Southwestern Christian 107-78 Thursday at the Hutcherson Center. The win moved the Pioneers to 17-8 overall and 8-7 in SAC competition.
Royal Crouch paced the Pioneers with 23 points, on 8-of-11 shooting, and five rebounds off the bench. The 6-foot-4 forward averages 8.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Leading scorer Markus Monroe followed with 22 points and five assists against the Eagles. The 6-foot-2 guard averages 21.0 points per game and is 11th in NAIA Division I in points per game (21.0) and total scoring (504).
Barry Johnson chipped in with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the 107-78 victory. The 6-foot guard averages 15.3 points per game and is ninth in NAIA Division I with 75 made 3-pointers.
Wayland Baptist was picked to finish sixth in the SAC by league coaches in the preseason.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 42-34 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.
Matt Garnett has a 42-43 record in his third season at the Wayland Baptist helm. Garnett led McMurry (Texas) to a 21-7 finish and the American Southwest Conference Tournament title in 2010-11. Garnett became an all-American playing for Wayland Baptist.
QUOTABLE: "They're a very aggressive and explosive offensive team. They have a post player that playing really well, and when you talk about a team that has good depth, Wayland Baptist has good depth. They're very tough to play at home." – Phelps on the Pioneers
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: Wayland Baptist will provide live video, audio and live stats of the game. To watch or listen to the game, click here. To follow the game via live stats, click here.
