OCU vs. Central Christian men’s basketball preview

Stars own 5-1 record at home this season

7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University welcomes Central Christian (Kan.) to Abe Lemons Arena for a midweek Sooner Athletic Conference matchup
• Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students, and OCU students, faculty and staff get into all regular-season OCU home athletics events free with their ID
• When the Stars score 70 points, fans get a 2-for-1 combo coupon for Raising Cane's

ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City comes off a 91-89 road win over Southwestern Christian on Saturday. The Stars (11-4, 4-3 SAC) got a key offensive rebound and a bucket from Terence Bonhomme to make it a two-possession game with 13 seconds left, wrapping up the victory and halting a late push from the Eagles
• Bonhomme, a 6-foot senior from St. Martinville, La., had his fifth game of 20 or more points, going for 25 points and six rebounds against SCU. Bonhomme averages 17.2 points per contest
• Ridell Camidge, a 6-foot-4 senior from Wilmington, N.C., also notched his fifth game of 20 or more points in Saturday's win. Camidge fueled OCU with 23 points against the Eagles and leads Oklahoma City in scoring with 18.9 points per game
• Samuel Williams, a 6-foot-8 senior from Reno, Nev., earned his third double-double of the season against SCU, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Williams averages 16.2 points and 8.5 boards per game. He also ranks 12th in NAIA Division I in offensive rebounds per game with 3.2
• Among the NAIA Division I, OCU ranks 10th in scoring, putting up 92.8 points per game. The Stars also rank 23rd in field goal percentage (48.6) and 24th in offensive rebounds per game (12.2)
• Oklahoma City ranks 14th in the latest NAIA Division I poll. OCU opened the season at No. 12 in the preseason top 25. The Stars have made 23 NAIA Division I Tournament appearances and won six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008
• The Stars have been picked to finish second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference according to the preseason coaches poll. OCU owns 12 SAC regular-season titles and nine SAC Tournament crowns
• This is the first meeting between Oklahoma City and Central Christian (Kan.) ever in men's basketball. Central Christian entered the league this season

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Central Christian most recently defeated Southwestern Christian 81-72 on Jan. 11 in McPherson, Kan. The Tigers (8-6, 2-5 SAC) snapped a two-game losing streak and held their opponent to just 8.3 percent from beyond the arc
• Jubril Osagie, a 6-foot-8 junior from Houston, leads the Tigers in scoring and rebounding with 15.0 points and 8.7 boards a game. Osagie ranks 1st in NAIA Division I in offensive rebounds per game with 4.6
• Paul Ard II, a 6-foot-3 junior from Houston, exploded for a season-high 20 points against Southwestern Christian. Ard II averages 11.1 points and 2.7 assists per contest
• Central Christian ranks as the fifth-best team in the NAIA Division I in offensive rebounds per game with 14.8. The Tigers also rank eighth in total rebounds per game (44.1) and 10th in defensive field goal percentage (40.0)
• Central Christian is in its first year as a member of the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Tigers were picked to finish 10th in the league according to the preseason coaches poll

MEET THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (47-26, third season with OCU)
• Patel collected his second HoopDirt.com coach of the week honor for Dec. 4-10
• Patel has guided two OCU all-Americans, including the Stars' first first-teamer since 2008; the 2017 Sooner Athletic Conference player of the year, the 2017 SAC co-defensive player of the year, a finalist for the Dark Horse Dunker competition, six all-conference performers and three academic all-SAC choices
• 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 the conference player of the year
• Patel spent nine years as assistant before serving as the head coach 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

Tony Romero (145-94, eighth season with CCC)
• Romero and his staff guided the Tiger's to 135 wins in the last seven seasons, including wins over nationally ranked teams and sightings in the NAIA national rankings 4 out of 7 of those years
• He was a four-year starter for the Tigers and during his playing career at CCC, he was voted "Newcomer of the Year," was a team captain three years in a row and was voted All-Conference MCAC player his senior season.
• Romero also earned records on the court as one of Central's career leader in points, three point field goals made and free throws made.

ON THE AIR
• Oklahoma City University athletics provides live and on-demand audio, stats and video of its contests on OCU's Stretch portal. Cost to watch the game is $7.95 per game, $34.95 for a women's basketball season pass and $79.95 for an all-season pass in 2017-18
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes enters his seventh season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 10 years starting on color commentary as an OCU student
• Fans can access regular-season broadcasts from NAIA institutions as well as from NAIA Championships postseason contests via Stretch Internet through custom apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Users can search for "NAIA" on the app interfaces on any compatible device, and then download the free NAIA Network app

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Players Mentioned

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

#23 Samuel Williams: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#3 Ridell Camidge: F; 6' 4"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

#23 Samuel Williams
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#3 Ridell Camidge
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#23 Samuel Williams

#3 Ridell Camidge

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#23 Samuel Williams

#3 Ridell Camidge