OCU vs. Langston men's basketball preview

Stars look to keep their record unblemished

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University faces off against nearby foe Langston.
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.

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City defeated Haskell (Kan.) 65-64 on a buzzer beater by Terence Bonhomme to move to 3-0 on the season Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU led by 11 points with 6:42 to go.
Bonhomme, a 6-foot junior from St. Martinville, La., supplied the Stars with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the contest. He is averaging 13.0 points, 5.0 boards, 3.7 assists and 1.33 steals per game this season.
Lou Dunbar, a 6-3 junior from Seabrook, Texas, contributed 13 points for the Stars. Dunbar is averaging 19.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.33 steals per contest this season. His 3.67 made 3-pointers per game ranks ninth in the NAIA. Brandon Patten, a 6-7 junior from Orange Park, Fla., and Xavier Smith, a 6-9 senior from Richardson, Texas, each had nine points and seven rebounds. Smith picks up 14.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.67 blocks a contest. He ranks fourth in the NAIA with 7.67 defensive rebounds per game.
OCU stands third in the NAIA in offensive rebounds (18.0) per game. To see how the Stars compare to the rest of the NAIA statistically, click here.
The Stars held the 18th spot in the preseason poll. The Stars have been picked to take second in the SAC according to the preseason coaches' poll. Oklahoma City owns six NAIA national championships won in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU owns a 19-4 record over Langston in the series. The Lions beat the Stars 83-68 the last time they played Nov. 18, 2014 in Oklahoma City.

ABOUT THE LIONS: Langston upended top-ranked defending national champion Mid-America Christian 89-75 Tuesday, Nov. 15 in Oklahoma City. The Lions (4-1) jumped out to an early 12-2 lead and never relinquished it.
Curtis Jones, a 6-2 senior, led Langston with 31 points, seven assists and four steals. Jones is averaging 19.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.20 steals per game. Terrell Jones, a 6-5 senior, had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jones averages 12.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.
Langston received votes in the NAIA preseason poll and has been picked to finish in fourth place in the 10-team Red River Athletic Conference.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Vinay Patel enters his second season as OCU head coach. In his first year, Oklahoma City finished 15-11 and tied for second in the Sooner Athletic conference. Before coming to OCU, he spent one season as Rogers State's assistant coach and aided the Hillcats 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.
Stan Holt is in his third season as head coach of Langston. Holt led the Lions to a Red River Athletic Conference Tournament championship in his second season. In two seasons as the Langston head coach, the Lions are a combined 41-18.

QUOTABLE: "We struggled to get in offensive sets when we needed to, but give our guys credit because they kept fighting. It a was great effort by Tyler Alderman there at the end to give Terence a chance to put it back in for the win." – Patel on the buzzer beater by Bonhomme

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, YouTube and 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, $34.95 to see all 2016-17 home basketball games and $79.95 to watch all of OCU's action in every sport in 2016-17.
Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes, in his sixth season as the voice of the Stars, has been broadcasting OCU games for nine years starting on color commentary as an OCU student.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#23 Brandon Patten: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#4 Tyler Alderman: C; 6' 9"; Senior

#11 Xavier Smith: C; 6' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

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

#23 Brandon Patten
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#4 Tyler Alderman
: 6' 9"; Senior
: C

#11 Xavier Smith
: 6' 9"; Senior
: C