OCU at John Brown men's basketball preview

Stars head to Siloam Springs, Ark., for first true road match of season

Jonathan Reed leads the Stars in total assists and assists per game this season

Men's Basketball | 11/30/2016 2:49:00 PM

8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1
Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University aims to maintain its unbeaten record in the league opener against John Brown (Ark.).

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City stayed undefeated by defeating 24th-ranked LSU-Shreveport 101-90 and move to 6-0 on the season Saturday at Don Sumner Fieldhouse in Shawnee, Okla. The Stars went to 2-0 against ranked foes this season.
Terence Bonhomme, a 6-foot junior from St. Martinville, La., supplied the Stars with 29 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the contest. The reigning Sooner Athletic Conference player of the week now leads the team with 18.3 points while also averaging 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.50 steals.
Xavier Smith, a 6-9 senior from Richardson, Texas, had 27 points and 13 rebounds. It was his fourth double-double in six games this season. Smith picks up 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.17 blocks a contest. He ranks fifth in the NAIA with 7.5 defensive rebounds per game. Lou Dunbar, a 6-3 junior from Seabrook, Texas, contributed 14 points. Dunbar is second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game.
OCU stands second in the NAIA in blocks (6.17) 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 leads the all-time series against John Brown 30-16. The Stars took a 76-67 win on Jan. 30 in Siloam Springs, Ark., in the last meeting. Bonhomme poured in 23 points.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: John Brown routed Philander Smith (Ark.) 93-67 on Monday, Nov. 15 in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Golden Eagles (7-3) tallied 61 bench points.
Benjamin Smith, a 6-8 sophomore, led JBU with 23 points, while also adding three rebounds off the bench. Smith is averaging 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.70 blocks per game while shooting 56.3 percent from beyond the arc. Ricky Roberts, a 6-3 senior, had 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Roberts averages 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest.
John Brown has been picked to finish in eighth place in the 10-team Sooner 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.
Jason Beschta enters his third season as head men's basketball coach after serving as the head coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan for three seasons. He is 35-38 through his first three seasons with the Golden Eagles. During his three-year tenure at OKWU, Beschta had a record of 62-36.

QUOTABLE: "I think what hurt us last year is now a strength. I looked at our team last year, and I knew we had to get some blocked shots on our side this season. Those big guys really affect the game. Our interior guys have done a better job of going straight vertical, and I think they've played really well these last few ball games." – Patel on the team's ability to block shots

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. Listen to the game live by visiting OCU's Stretch portal by clicking here. Andrew Himes provides the commentary. Himes, in his fifth season as the voice of the Stars, has been broadcasting OCU games for eight years starting on color commentary as an OCU student.
Fans can follow the game via live video and live stats here.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#22 Lou Dunbar

#11 Xavier Smith

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#22 Lou Dunbar

#11 Xavier Smith