OCU vs. Texas Wesleyan men's basketball preview

Stars aim for second league win

Jordan Mason has contributed 7.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game for OCU.

Men's Basketball | 12/7/2015 2:52:00 PM

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

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University takes on Texas Wesleyan in a Super Tuesday 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. If the Stars score 70 points, fans will get a prize from Raising Cane's. For the OCU athletics visitors guide, click here.

ABOUT THE STARS: OCU edged Southwestern Christian 77-72 on Saturday in Bethany, Okla., in the Stars' first Sooner Athletic Conference game of the season. Oklahoma City (3-1, 1-0) outrebounded the Eagles 38-29 and had 16 second-chance points compared to the Eagles' six. OCU leads the SAC with 32.5 total rebounds per game.
Dorion Gigger, a junior from Oklahoma City, notched career bests with 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Stars. Gigger paces OCU with 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. The 6-foot-5 forward leads the NAIA in field-goal percentage at 69.2 percent and the SAC in defensive rebounds per game with 7.0.
Terence Bonhomme, a sophomore from St. Martinsville, La., tallied 22 points and a career-high five 3-pointers. The 6-foot guard is 8-for-20 on the season from the 3-point land while averaging 12.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Noel Allen, a senior from Gutenberg, N.J., compiled 10 points, five boards and two steals for the Stars. The 6-6 forward averages nine points and 4.5 rebounds a game for Oklahoma City.
OCU is 10th in the NAIA in 3-point field-goal percentage defensive by holding opponents to just 28.4 percent. To see how OCU rates statistically among NAIA Division I, click here.
The Stars picked up votes in the preseason NAIA Division I rankings. OCU has been slotted to take sixth in the SAC 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.
The all-time series between the Stars and the Rams is tied 10-10. The Stars pummeled the Rams 98-83 in the most recent matchup Jan. 31, 2015 at Abe Lemons Arena.

ABOUT THE RAMS: The Rams outlasted 10th-ranked Mid-America Christian 111-101 Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas Wesleyan (7-2, 1-0 SAC) dominated the points off the bench battle 74-18.
Jerell Ellis led the Rams with 34 points. Ellis, a 6-4 senior, averages 18.4 points a game, fourth in the SAC. Dion Rogers added 22 points and had a team-high eight assists. Rogers, a 6-foot junior, averages 14.6 points and 4.1 assists per game.
Texas Wesleyan ranks sixth in the NAIA in offensive rebounds per game with 16.7 and ninth in total rebounds per game with 46.1. The Rams were projected to finish fifth place in the SAC preseason poll.

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.
Brennen Shingleton has led Texas Wesleyan to a 56-45 record in his third season as head coach. Shingleton spent 10 years as a Texas Wesleyan assistant before ascending to the top job.

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: OCU athletics has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live and on-demand audio, stats and video of the Stars' games. Follow the game via live audio, stats and video by visiting OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Cost to watch the game is $7.95 per game, $29.95 to see all 2015-16 home games and $79.95 to watch all of OCU's action in every sport in 2015-16.
Andrew Himes provides the play-by-play, entering his fifth season as the voice of the Stars. Himes has been broadcasting OCU games for eight years starting on color commentary as an OCU student.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#5 Terence Bonhomme: G; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

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

#5 Terence Bonhomme
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

Players Mentioned

#32 Dorion Gigger

#1 Noel Allen

#5 Terence Bonhomme

Players Mentioned

#32 Dorion Gigger

#1 Noel Allen

#5 Terence Bonhomme