OCU at MidAmerica Nazarene men's basketball preview

Oklahoma City set to make 35th national-tournament appearance

NAIA Division I Tournament
6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 17
Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University returns to the NAIA Tournament in a first-round matchup against MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).
Adult tickets cost $15, student tickets are $5 while kids 5 and under get in free. For ticket information, click here.

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City dropped a 75-71 decision to eventual tournament champion Wayland Baptist (Texas) in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on March 3 in Waxahachie, Texas. The Stars (15-10) outscored Wayland Baptist 41-4 in bench points.
Jonathan Reed, a 5-foot-7 sophomore from Powder Springs, Ga., buoyed the Stars with a career-best 17 points to go with three steals. He shot 6-for-8 from the floor. Reed provides OCU with 6.2 points, 2.3 assists and 1.28 steals a game.
Noel Allen, a 6-6 senior from Guttenberg, N.J, supplied OCU with 14 points and 10 rebounds while hitting 6 of his 9 shots from the field. Allen records 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a contest. Terence Bonhomme, a 6-foot sophomore from St. Martinville, La., had 13 points and three steals. Bonhomme, a first-team all-SAC performer, averages 17.2 points and 1.92 steals per game to go along with an 83 percent free-throw percentage.
The Stars gather 12.8 offensive rebounds a game to rank 19th, while Bonhomme ranks 14th in steals per game among NAIA Division I. To see how OCU ranks statistically among NAIA Division I, click here.
OCU moved to 24th in the newest NAIA rankings. Oklahoma City has captured six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008. OCU has a 47-14 record in the NAIA Tournament entering its 22nd appearance.
The Stars fell to MidAmerica Nazarene 88-83 on Nov. 20, 2007 at Abe Lemons Arena in the only previous meeting between the two teams. Both teams were coming off national championship seasons, OCU in NAIA Division I and MidAmerica Nazarene in NAIA Division II.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS: William Penn (Iowa) took the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament title 83-67 over MidAmerica Nazarene on March 7 in Olathe, Kan. MidAmerica Nazarene (25-6) hadn't lost a conference tournament game at home since 2008.
Jonas Page, a 6-6 junior, picked up 17 points, three treys and two steals. Page produces 12.2 points and 3.9 rebounds a game. Justin Randall, a 6-2 senior, had 15 points and four rebounds. Randall averages 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.85 blocked shots per game.
MidAmerica Nazarene, ranked 14th, tops the NAIA with 20.3 assists per game and 670 assists this season.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Vinay Patel embarks on his first season as OCU head coach. He came to Oklahoma City after spending one season as Rogers State's assistant coach. He aided Rogers State 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.
Rocky Lamar has guided MidAmerica Nazarene to a 702-354 mark in 30 years. He has led MidAmerica to six national semifinal appearances, 17 national-tournament bids and 12 conference titles. Lamar is an NAIA Hall of Famer.

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 and YouTube, and new for 2015-16, 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 featuring Bonhomme or see our video channel in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.

ON THE AIR: Fans can follow all NAIA Tournament games via live video and live stats.

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Players Mentioned

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

#2 Jonathan Ellis: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#1 Noel Allen: F; 6' 6"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

#2 Jonathan Ellis
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Noel Allen
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#2 Jonathan Ellis

#1 Noel Allen

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#2 Jonathan Ellis

#1 Noel Allen