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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Dema Sane

Men's Basketball

OCU at Southwestern Christian men’s basketball preview

Stars look to bounce back with a road victory

Dema Sane averages 3.4 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Stars.
8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15
Pickens-Springer Gymnasium in Bethany, Okla.
 
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University looks to get back on track against conference rival Southwestern Christian.
 
ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City lost on a last-second shot against Mid-America Christian on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU (6-4, 2-2 Sooner Athletic Conference) led by four with 1:32 to play in the game.
Gary Inglett, a 6-foot-6 senior from Ardmore, Okla., scored 24 points for the second straight game and pulled down eight rebounds against Mid-America. Inglett ranks fourth in NAIA Division I in defensive rebounds per game with 7.4.
Tharone Chilton, a 6-2 senior from Tulsa, Okla., contributed 14 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Stars. Chilton averages 15.6 points per game, 3.3 rebounds and leads the team with 1.3 steals per game. R.J. McGhee, a 6-6 senior from Baton Rouge, La., added 14 points and three rebounds. McGhee averages 20.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Oklahoma City rates 11th nationally with 85.4 points per game. To see how the Stars rate statistically among NAIA Division I, click here.
OCU has been predicted to take fourth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference in the preseason. OCU has won six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
The all-time series against the two teams is tied 1-1. OCU topped Southwestern Christian 88-75 at Abe Lemons Arena in the last meeting. McGhee scored 24 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the game.
 
ABOUT THE EAGLES: Southwestern Christian is in the midst of a three-game losing streak. SCU (4-8, 0-4 SAC) last lost to USAO 69-64 at USAO Fieldhouse. The Eagles held USAO to 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the field.
Austin Turner, a 6-5 senior, led the charge with 17 points and added five rebounds. Turner made 6-of-12 shots from the floor and hit three 3-pointers. He averages 13.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Adam Dirlbeck, a 6-5 senior, scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. Dirlbeck averages 9.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Southwestern Christian was picked to finish last in the SAC preseason coaches' poll.
 
ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a 51-42 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.
Quinn Wooldridge is in his third season as Southwestern Christian's head coach. He has guided the Eagles to a 20-51 record, bringing his college head-coaching record to 29-72. Wooldridge was previously an assistant coach at OCU.
 
QUOTABLE: "Southwestern Christian is a very good team. They are big, they're physical. Like always, they can shoot the lights out. [Wooldridge] has a really good team this year. We are going to have to come to play and compete with everything we have and put two halves together instead of just one." – Phelps
 
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 serves as the voice of the Stars.
Southwestern Christian will provide live stats and live video.
 
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Players Mentioned

R.J. McGhee

#1 R.J. McGhee

F
6' 6"
Senior
Gary Inglett

#2 Gary Inglett

F
6' 6"
Senior
Tharone Chilton

#11 Tharone Chilton

G
6' 2"
Senior

Players Mentioned

R.J. McGhee

#1 R.J. McGhee

6' 6"
Senior
F
Gary Inglett

#2 Gary Inglett

6' 6"
Senior
F
Tharone Chilton

#11 Tharone Chilton

6' 2"
Senior
G