OCU vs. Wayland Baptist men's basketball preview

Stars take aim at 10th conference tournament title

Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals
9:45 p.m. Thursday, March 3
Sheaffer Center in Waxahachie, Texas

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City University begins postseason play against defending Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament champion Wayland Baptist (Texas).
Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for students.

ABOUT THE STARS: The Stars won 75-62 over St. Gregory's in the regular-season finale Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. Oklahoma City (15-9, 12-6 SAC) held St. Gregory's to two 3-pointers, the fewest by an OCU opponent this season.
Evan White, a 6-foot-4 senior from San Antonio, boosted the Stars with 18 points, reaching double digits in scoring for the seventh time this season. He hit 6 of 9 shots from the field and 3 of 5 3-point tries. White posts 7.7 points and 3.0 rebounds a game along with a 35 percent 3-point shooting percentage.
Terence Bonhomme, a 6-foot sophomore from St. Martinville, La., shared team-high scoring honors with 18 points. Bonhomme, a first-team all-SAC choice, leads OCU with 17.4 points and 1.88 steals a game plus an 82.8 percent free-throw percentage. Dorion Gigger, a 6-5 junior from Oklahoma City, had seven points and nine rebounds. Gigger, a third-team all-conference performer, averages 10.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
The Stars collect 12.8 offensive rebounds a game to rank 18th, while Gigger ranks 17th in rebounding among NAIA Division I. To see how OCU ranks statistically among NAIA Division I, click here.
OCU moved up to 22nd in the latest NAIA rankings. Oklahoma City leads the conference with nine SAC Tournament championships from 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2013. OCU has captured six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008.
OCU has a 42-14 record against Wayland Baptist. Wayland Baptist halted OCU's four-game winning streak in conference road games with an 86-76 win Feb. 11 in Plainview, Texas. White totaled 19 points and four treys.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS: Wayland Baptist upended third-ranked Texas Wesleyan 87-75 on Saturday in Plainview, Texas. Wayland Baptist (18-11, 10-8 SAC) won its last six home games of the season.
Robert Waters, a 6-1 senior, generated 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and five 3-pointers. Waters, an all-SAC first-teamer, produces 21.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.21 steals a game and a 40.3 percent 3-point shooting clip. Jordon Johnson, a 6-2 senior, had 15 points while shooting 7 of 10 from the free-throw line. Johnson averages 11.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.52 thefts per game.
Wayland Baptist leads the NAIA with 2,762 points scored 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.
Ty Harrelson is in his first season as the Pioneers men's head basketball coach. The Wayland Baptist alum graduated in 2003 and has spent the last 12 years playing and coaching abroad. Most recently, he helped guide the South West Slammers, a semi-professional Australian basketball team, to the playoffs as a player-head coach.

QUOTABLE: "This team has been very good on the road. We were 7-2 on the road this year in conference. I have no problems taking this team on the road and trying to do something special." – Patel

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 or see our video channel in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.

ON THE AIR: Fans can follow the game via live stats. Wayland Baptist will broadcast the game over live audio.

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Players Mentioned

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

#32 Dorion Gigger: F; 6' 5"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#32 Dorion Gigger
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

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

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#32 Dorion Gigger

#12 Evan White

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#32 Dorion Gigger

#12 Evan White