OCU at Haskell men's basketball preview

Stars make return trip to Haskell as part of this season's home-and-home series

Tyler Alderman had a season-best 23 points and 13 rebounds against Trinity Bible on Saturday.

Men's Basketball | 12/16/2016 1:35:00 PM

3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17
Tony Coffin Sports Complex in Lawrence, Kan.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University travels to Lawrence, Kan., for a rematch against Haskell (Kan.). The two played earlier this season, and Terence Bonhomme hit a buzzer beater to give OCU the one-point victory. The tip time for the game has been moved up from its previous time due to impending inclement weather in the area.

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City raced past Trinity Bible (N.D.) 114-72 on Saturday at the Randall Classic in Moore, Okla. OCU had five players in double-digit scoring and went 2-0 in the tournament. The Stars are 10-0 for the first time since finishing 29-0 in the 2006-07 national championship season.
Tyler Alderman, a 6-foot-9 senior from Fishers, Ind., produced his second double-double of the season with 23 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Alderman averages 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.40 blocked shots per game. He ranks seventh in NAIA Division I with a 62.2 field-goal percentage.
Bonhomme, a 6-foot junior from St. Martinville, La., produced 20 points, five rebounds and six assists. He went 6-for-8 from beyond the arc and currently leads OCU with 18.4 points per contest. Xavier Smith, a 6-9 senior from Richardson, Texas, added 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Smith picks up 17.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.30 blocks a contest.
OCU stands second in the NAIA with 5.90 blocked shots per contest. To see how the Stars compare to the rest of the NAIA statistically, click here.
The Stars held the fifth spot in the latest national poll. It is the first time OCU has appeared in the top five since 2008. 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.
The matchup earlier this season was the first between Haskell and OCU. The Stars won 65-64 and Bonhomme scored 18 points, including the game-winning putback.

ABOUT THE INDIANS: Haskell dropped a 73-55 decision to McPherson (Kan.) on Thursday in Lawrence, Kan. The Indians (1-13) have lost nine games this season decided by five points or less.
Bryon Elledge scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out two assists. He averages 8.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. T'salidi Sequoia leads Haskell with 13.8 points and 7.8 rebound per contest.
Haskell is a part of the NAIA Division II independents.

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.
Matthew Downing leads Haskell in his first season as head coach.

QUOTABLE: "One thing I'll say about our team: No lead is safe. Up or down. We make things really interesting at times. We've been up 18 against Langston and lost the lead as well as being down 17 against Our Lady of the Lake [Texas] and came back to win by a point." – Patel on his team's ability to play well in close games

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: Haskell will provide live stats and video of the game. You can find them by clicking here.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#4 Tyler Alderman

#11 Xavier Smith

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#4 Tyler Alderman

#11 Xavier Smith