Men's Basketball 2/27/2015 2:09:00 PM

OCU vs. John Brown men’s basketball preview

Stars look to take hold of No. 2 spot in SAC

OCU seniors have led the Stars to a 16-7 record this season.

8 p.m. Monday, March 2
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University tries for the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament as it hosts Sooner Athletic Conference opponent John Brown (Ark.) in the last game of the regular season.
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: Oklahoma City moved into a tie for second in the SAC after an 82-78 takedown of No. 24 Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) on Thursday in Waxahachie, Texas. The 23rd-ranked Stars (16-7, 12-5) are on a four-game winning streak and completed the season sweep of SAGU.
Tharone Chilton, a 6-foot-2 senior from Tulsa, Okla., powered the Stars with 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Chilton led OCU in scoring the last four games with an average of 25.8 points a game. On the season, he provides the Stars with 17.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Evan White, a 6-4 junior from San Antonio, provided the Stars with 15 points and three 3-pointers. White averages 6.8 points and 1.3 rebounds a game. Gary Inglett, a 6-6 senior from Ardmore, Okla., turned in his league-high 11th double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Inglett averages a double-double and leads the team in scoring with 18.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest.
Oklahoma City's 17.0 assists team average ranks fourth among NAIA Division I. To see how OCU ranks statistically in the NAIA, click here.
OCU moved to 23rd in the latest national rankings. The Stars were projected to finish fourth in the SAC by league coaches. Oklahoma City owns six NAIA national championships won in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU has gone 28-15 against John Brown over the years. The Stars knocked off John Brown 85-71 on Jan. 29 in Siloam Springs, Ark., in the most recent meeting. Inglett provided the Stars with 21 points and eight rebounds.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: John Brown topped Southwestern Christian 76-72 in overtime in Bethany, Okla. The Golden Eagles (16-13, 8-9) trailed the entire game before tying the game with 2.5 seconds remaining in regulation on D.J. Feitl's basket.
Feitl, a 6-3 junior, led the charge for JBU with 24 points and nine rebounds. Feitl leads the Golden Eagles in scoring and steal with 18.1 and 1.2 respectively, while pulling down 4.7 rebounds a game. Zach English, a 6-2 sophomore, supplied JBU with 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists. English provides 7.7 points and 2.1 rebounds a contest.
John Brown was picked to finish eighth in the SAC coaches' poll.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a 61-45 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.

QUOTABLE: "I'm very proud of our guys for remaining composed while facing adversity. This was a very big step for us. We're very fortunate to come out of this one on top." – Phelps on Thursday's win at Southwestern Assemblies of God

POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS: The Stars would gain the No. 2 seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament with a victory. OCU would get the No. 3 seed with a loss.

ABOUT THE SAC TOURNAMENT: The nation's premier NAIA basketball conference stages its postseason tournament at Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City on March 4-7. NAIA Division I Tournament berths will be at stake in the SAC men's and women's basketball tournaments.

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 watch, listen to or follow the game on live stats, visit OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Andrew Himes calls the action.
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.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#2 Gary Inglett: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#12 Evan White: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#11 Tharone Chilton: G; 6' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#2 Gary Inglett
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#12 Evan White
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#11 Tharone Chilton
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

Players Mentioned

#2 Gary Inglett

#12 Evan White

#11 Tharone Chilton

Players Mentioned

#2 Gary Inglett

#12 Evan White

#11 Tharone Chilton