OCU at Southwestern Assemblies of God men's basketball preview

Stars seek SAC road win

Tyler Alderman's 1.31 blocks a game rank 26th in the NAIA.

Men's Basketball | 1/6/2017 5:41:00 PM

5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7
Sheaffer Center in Waxahachie, Texas

THE MATCHUP: Oklahoma City heads to Waxahachie, Texas, to take on conference foe Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas).

ABOUT THE STARS: Oklahoma City defeated defending national champion and 10th-ranked Mid-America Christian 100-90 Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City. The Stars (12-1, 3-0 SAC) used a 16-1 run to pull away midway through the second half.
Syrus McDonald scored a season-high 33 points while also adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals. McDonald, a 6-foot senior from Flint, Mich., went 10-for-20 from the field and made 13 of 14 of his shots from the free-throw line.
Xavier Smith recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Smith, a 6-9 senior out of Richardson, Texas, leads the Stars with 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.54 blocks per contest this season. His 33 blocks this season ranks third in NAIA Division I. Jonathan Reed, a 5-7 junior from Powder Springs, Ga., scored a career-high 20 points off the bench for the Stars while also providing four assists and four steals in the win. Reed averages 6.6 points, 3.2 assists and 1.60 steals a game.
OCU stands first in the NAIA in total blocks with 81. To see how the Stars compare to the rest of the NAIA statistically, click here.
The Stars stayed in the fifth spot in the latest NAIA Division I 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.
The all-time series between these two schools is tied 3-3. OCU edged SAGU 52-49 on Feb. 6, 2016 in Waxahachie, Texas. Terence Bonhomme helped extend OCU's lead to three with a free throw with 15 seconds left on the clock, and the Stars defense held on the final possession. Bonhomme led the Stars with 15 points.

ABOUT THE LIONS: SAGU picked up their first conference win 85-77 over St. Gregory's on Thursday in Shawnee, Okla. SAGU (11-3, 1-1 SAC) led by as many as 15.
Keyunta Watkins, a 5-8 senior, led all scorers with 24 points and was 5-for-10 from 3-point range. He averages 18.3 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game and is third in Division I in with 3.62 3-pointers per contest. Isaak Rowe, a 6-6 sophomore, provided 20 points, seven rebounds and two steals. He averages 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.85 steals per contest.
SAGU received votes in the latest NAIA poll and has been picked to finish fourth in the 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.
Donnie Bostwick is in his sixth season as head coach of the Lions. He has a 129-49 overall record at SAGU and led the Lions to a second-place finish in the NAIA Tournament in 2013.

QUOTABLE: "The game against SAGU is going to be a slugfest. Donnie has his team playing really well, and I'm trying to get our players to understand the environment they have down there. It's going to be a tough one for us to get because of how well that team is playing right now." –Patel on upcoming the trip to Waxahachie

FOLLOW THE STARS: Fans can keep up on the latest from OCU athletics through several ways.
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ON THE AIR: SAGU will provide live stats as well as video of Saturday's matchup.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#3 Syrus McDonald: G; 6' 0"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#3 Syrus McDonald
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

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