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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Ivan Jelencic

Men's Basketball

OCU vs. St. Thomas men's basketball preview

Stars look to avenge loss to St. Thomas earlier this season

Ivan Jelencic provides OCU with 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds a game.
2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center
 
THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University returns to action after a 28-day layoff in its final non-conference tilt of the season against St. Thomas (Texas).
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 topped Wayland Baptist (Texas) 93-89 on Dec. 6 at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU (4-3, 1-1 Sooner Athletic Conference) notched its first victory over an NAIA opponent this season. The Stars are 3-0 against NCAA Division II competition and 1-3 against NAIA foes.
Tharone Chilton, a 6-foot-2 senior from Tulsa, Okla., led Oklahoma City with 21 points and four assists. He shot 7-for-10 from the field. Chilton posts 15.6 points, 2.7 assists and 1.43 steals per game.
R.J. McGhee, a 6-6 senior from Baton Rouge, La., chipped in 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. McGhee's 22.7 points per game ranks third in the NAIA, and his 50 percent 3-point shooting percentage rates fourth nationally. Gary Inglett, a 6-6 senior from Ardmore, Okla., had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Jamil Donovan, a 5-7 junior from Oklahoma City, added 15 points, three assists and two steals. Inglett ranks sixth among the national leaders with 10.6 rebounds a game.
Oklahoma City rates second nationally with 9.71 3-pointers per game. To see how the Stars rate statistically among NAIA Division I, click here.
The Stars received votes in the first regular-season edition of the 2014-15 NAIA Division I rankings. 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.
OCU dropped an 84-65 decision to St. Thomas on Nov. 15, 2014 in Houston. Inglett supplied the Stars with 20 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals off the bench. That verdict tied the overall series between the two foes at 1-1.
 
ABOUT THE CELTS: St. Thomas dumped Bacone 79-47 on Dec. 13 in Houston. St. Thomas (5-5, 2-2 Red River Athletic Conference) held the visitors to 32.7 percent shooting (16-of-49) from the floor.
Deric Dudley, a 6-3 senior, produced 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while hitting six 3-pointers. Dudley earned RRAC player of the week for Dec. 8-14 after averaging 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two St. Thomas wins. Dudley records team highs with 17.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Sean Edwards, a 5-7 junior, had 12 points, four rebounds and two steals. Edwards averages 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game.  
St. Thomas was expected to finish third in the Red River Athletic Conference in the preseason.    
 
ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a record of 49-41 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 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.
Todd Smith enters his sixth season with St. Thomas. Under Smith, St. Thomas has gone 91-66. The Celts made the NAIA Tournament and fell in the first round last season.
 
QUOTABLE: "Hopefully by now we figured out that no matter who we step onto the floor against we have to remind ourselves that it's us that's on the floor. We're going to respect ourselves at a high enough level that we are going to compete at a level we expect to compete at each night." – Phelps  
 
FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest on 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 featuring Phelps 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 follow the game via live audio, stats or video, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Andrew Himes will give the play-by-play.
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' home games this season costs $29.95, while a 2014-15 all-sports pass costs $79.95.
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Players Mentioned

Jamil Donovan

#3 Jamil Donovan

G
5' 7"
Junior
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

Jamil Donovan

#3 Jamil Donovan

5' 7"
Junior
G
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