Vinay Patel posted his first regular-season victory as Oklahoma City University coach Tuesday.

Men's Basketball 11/25/2015 11:40:00 PM

OCU in Central Oklahoma Classic men's basketball preview

Oklahoma City plays in Central Oklahoma Classic for second time in three years

7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27
at Central Oklahoma
5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28
vs. Oklahoma Christian
Hamilton Field House in Edmond, Okla.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University renews hostilities with cross-town rivals Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma Christian in the Central Oklahoma Classic.
Adult tickets to the games cost $10 each. For ticket information, click here.

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars upended 25th-ranked Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 92-79 on Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena in their first regular-season game of 2015-16. Oklahoma City (1-0) pounded the glass for a 48-27 rebounding advantage and a 17-3 second-chance points edge.
Noel Allen, a 6-foot-6 senior from Guttenberg, N.J., lifted OCU with 18 points and five rebounds while shooting 8-for-13 from the field. Allen's 61.5 percent field-goal percentage ranks 15th in NAIA Division I.
Lou Dunbar, a 6-3 sophomore from Seabrook, Texas, added 18 points and three assists in 22 minutes of play. Dunbar led the Stars to outscoring Our Lady of the Lake 38-27 in points off the bench. Jordan Mason, a 6-2 junior from Ennis, Texas, had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Mason ranks 12th nationally in shooting percentage (62.5 percent).
The Stars shot 26-for-32 from the free-throw line to take the early lead in the NAIA in free-throw percentage at 81.3 percent. To see how OCU rates statistically among NAIA Division I, click here.
OCU picked up votes in the preseason NAIA Division I rankings. The Stars have been slotted to take sixth in the Sooner Athletic Conference according to the preseason coaches poll. Oklahoma City has won or shared the SAC regular-season championship 12 times, most recently in 2007-08. OCU has captured six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU has a 27-22 lead in the all-time series against Central Oklahoma. The Stars completed a home-and-home series sweep of Central Oklahoma with a 109-97 victory Nov. 22, 2014 in Edmond, Okla. Dorion Gigger provided the Stars with 22 points and five rebounds while hitting 9 of his 12 shots from the floor.
Oklahoma City has a 48-20 advantage over Oklahoma Christian over the years. The Stars knocked off Oklahoma Christian 78-68 on Nov. 29, 2013 in Edmond, Okla., in the most recent meeting between the two.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: Central Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the season 77-73 to Southwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday in Edmond, Okla. Southwestern did in Central Oklahoma (3-1) by scoring the game's final nine points.
Kendahl Amerson, a 6-3 junior, provided Central with 19 points. Amerson posts 13.0 points a game. His potential game-tying 3-pointer rimmed out with nine seconds to go. Garen Wright, a 6-4 sophomore, had 15 points and eight rebounds. Wright averages 10.8 points and 8.5 rebounds a game.
Central Oklahoma has been picked to finish eighth in the preseason Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association coaches poll.

ABOUT THE EAGLES: Oklahoma Christian sputtered to a 73-67 double-overtime loss to Central Oklahoma on Nov. 17 at Oklahoma Christian's Eagles Nest. Central rallied from a 12-point deficit with 3:05 left in regulation and held off Oklahoma Christian (0-3) in the extra periods.
John Moon, a 7-foot junior, accumulated 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Moon records 13.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.67 blocks a contest. Elijah Strickland, a 6-3 sophomore, and Jordan Rutherford, a 6-7 junior, each had 16 points. Strickland played a game-high 50 minutes.
Oklahoma Christian has been ticketed to take 10th in the 11-team Heartland Conference in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Vinay Patel embarks on his first season as OCU head coach. He came to Oklahoma City after spending one season as Rogers State's assistant coach. He aided Rogers State to a 20-8 season led by conference player of the year Frederico Santos. Patel spent nine years as assistant at West Texas A&M. During that time, West Texas went to the NCAA Division II Tournament five times, won the Lone Star Conference championship and took two Lone Star South Division titles. He elevated to the interim head-coaching position before he ended his time at West Texas A&M.
Tom Hankins guides Central Oklahoma in his first year at the helm after a lengthy career as an assistant coach on the NCAA Division I level. Hankins succeeded Terry Evans as Central's coach May 14. He had spent the previous three years as associate head coach at Southern Illinois-Carbondale and prior to that, 15 years as assistant at Oral Roberts.
Dan Hays has guided Oklahoma Christian to a 646-384 record in his 33rd season as the Eagles' head coach. Hays, an NAIA hall of Famer, led the Eagles to seven SAC championships and nine NAIA Division I Tournament appearances before Oklahoma Christian's departure for NCAA Division II. His overall college coaching record stands at 717-452, giving him more wins than any men's basketball coach in Oklahoma among four-year colleges.

QUOTABLE: "He has been phenomenal since I've been here. Him and Reed – I just call him Dr. Reed. Those two are fun to coach. They share the ball extremely well, they're good teammates and they're great leaders. I can't brag on them enough." – Patel on Jamil Donovan and Jonathan Reed

FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest from OCU athletics through several ways.
Check out OCU athletics on several social media platforms by looking up the handle @ocustars. The Stars are on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and new for 2015-16, Instagram.
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: Central Oklahoma Classic games will be available via live video and live stats.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Jamil Donovan: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#22 Lou Dunbar: G; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#32 Dorion Gigger: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#2 Jonathan Ellis: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#1 Noel Allen: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#24 Jordan Mason: G; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#3 Jamil Donovan
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#22 Lou Dunbar
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: G

#32 Dorion Gigger
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#2 Jonathan Ellis
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Noel Allen
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#24 Jordan Mason
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G