Men's Basketball 2/4/2015 4:27:00 PM

OCU at Mid-America Christian men's basketball preview

Stars look to better position in conference standings

Jamil Donovan supplied OCU with eight points and seven assists against Mid-America Christian on Jan. 10.

8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5
Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University seeks to gain a leg up in a tight Sooner Athletic Conference race in an away test against league front runner Mid-America Christian.

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City rolled past Texas Wesleyan 98-83 on Saturday inside Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (10-6, 6-4 SAC play) rang up a season-high 62.3 percent field-goal percentage and 27 assists to climb into a five-way tie for second place in the conference.
Gary Inglett, a 6-foot-6 senior from Ardmore, Okla., notched 27 points and nine rebounds while sinking 11 of 14 shots from the field. Inglett produces 18.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists a contest on 53.1 percent shooting from the field. Inglett averages 21.1 points and 9.7 rebounds with a 54.5 percent field-goal percentage in SAC play.
Lou Dunbar, a 6-3 redshirt freshman from Seabrook, Texas, piled up 17 points while shooting 5-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-6 from 3-point range in 14 minutes of play. Dunbar chips in 10.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game while shooting 6-for-8 from the field after making his season debut Jan. 29. Evan White, a 6-4 junior from San Antonio, had 14 points and four assists against Texas Wesleyan. White averages 6.4 points and 1.8 rebounds a game.
The Stars rank seventh among NAIA Division I at 17.1 assists a game and a 73.5 percent free-throw percentage. To see how OCU ranks among the NAIA's statistical leaders, click here.
OCU has been 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.
Oklahoma City owns a 15-6 advantage in the all-time series against Mid-America Christian. Mid-America took the last meeting 81-78 on Jan. 10 at Abe Lemons Arena. Jerrick Massenburge nailed a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to make the difference. Inglett provided the Stars with 24 points and eight rebounds.

ABOUT THE EVANGELS: Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) cooled off Mid-America Christian 78-61 on Saturday in Waxahachie, Texas. SAGU reeled off a 13-2 run to end the first half to stop a seven-game win streak by Mid-America (15-7, 8-2 SAC).
Semar Farris, a 5-5 senior, gave the Evangels their only double-digit scorer with 22 points and three assists. Farris hit 8 of his 11 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Farris tops his team in scoring (17.1 points a game), assists (5.4) and steals (2.18). Chris Runnels, a 6-6 junior, had eight points and seven rebounds. Runnells averages 8.0 points and 5.2 rebounds a contest.
Mid-America Christian equaled its highest NAIA ranking at No. 14 in the latest poll. Mid-America ranks fourth nationally with 15.6 offensive rebounds a game. The Evangels were expected to finish fifth in the SAC in the preseason.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Dionne Phelps owns a 55-44 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.
Willie Holley is in his 42nd season as head coach of the Evangels. Holley reeled in his 800th career win 86-52 over Southwestern Christian on Jan. 17 in Bethany, Okla. Holley announced that this will be his last year coaching the team.

QUOTABLE: "They're doing such a heck of a job. They have a lot of motivation being that this is their head coach's last year. I think they're trying to go after it for him. I have a lot of respect for them. They are a talented team. Getting ready for them is always going to be a battle." – Phelps on Mid-America

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. Listen to the game by visiting OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Andrew Himes calls the action.
Mid-America Christian will provide live stats and live video.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#22 Lou Dunbar: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

#22 Lou Dunbar
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#2 Gary Inglett

#12 Evan White

#22 Lou Dunbar

Players Mentioned

#2 Gary Inglett

#12 Evan White

#22 Lou Dunbar