OCU vs. Wayland Baptist men's basketball preview

Stars take aim at conference-leading Wayland Baptist

7:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University entertains Sooner Athletic Conference-leading Wayland Baptist (Texas) in a clash of teams ranked among the NAIA Division I men's basketball top 25
• The Stars enter with a 2-1 record vs. ranked teams this season
• 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
• The Stars took a 95-85 setback to Central Christian (Kan.) on Tuesday at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU (11-5, 4-4 SAC) sliced its deficit to 81-78 with 5:25 remaining, but Central Christian answered with a 9-0 run
• Ridell Camidge, a 6-foot-4 senior from Wilmington, N.C., delivered 16 points and eight rebounds. Camidge leads OCU with 18.7 points a contest and 40.3 percent 3-point shooting while pulling in 6.2 rebounds per contest. Camidge made the initial Bevo Francis Award watch list of 2017-18
• Terence Bonhomme, a 6-foot senior from St. Martinville, La., reeled in 16 points, four rebounds and four assists while shooting 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. Bonhomme supplies OCU with 17.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. Bonhomme's 87.3 percent free-throw percentage ranks ninth in the NAIA
• Lou Dunbar, a 6-3 senior from Seabrook, Texas, scored 16 points and knocked in 5 of 7 3-point shots. Dunbar chips in 7.0 points per game, but has averaged 12.8 points the past five games
• OCU stands at 11th among the NAIA and tops the SAC with 92.3 points a game. To see how OCU stacks up with the rest of the NAIA statistically in 2017-18, click here
• The Stars sit at No. 21 in this week's NAIA Division I rankings. Oklahoma City has 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
• Oklahoma City has gone 43-16 against Wayland Baptist over the years. Wayland Baptist took the most recent meeting 74-64 on Jan. 16 in Plainview, Texas. Dunbar tallied 14 points while playing the entire game

ABOUT THE PIONEERS
• Wayland Baptist rolled to a 94-74 win over Panhandle State on Monday in Plainview, Texas. Wayland (13-3, 6-2 SAC) scored the first 12 points of the game
• J.J. Culver, a 6-4 sophomore, posted 18 points while hitting 4 of 8 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Culver averages 13.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.88 steals a game
• Ruben Lopez, a 5-6 senior, tops Wayland Baptist in scoring (13.9 points a game), assists (4.6 per game) and 3-point shooting (49.4 percent)
• Wayland Baptist jumped 10 spots in the poll to No. 11 nationally. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named the Pioneers its NAIA team of the week for Jan. 8-14 after beating two ranked teams
• The Pioneers sink 40.8 percent from 3-point range to rank seventh in the NAIA as a team
• The preseason conference poll had Wayland Baptist at fifth among SAC teams

MEET THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (47-27, 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

Ty Harrelson (52-28, third season with Wayland Baptist)
• Led Wayland Baptist to its second consecutive SAC Tournament championship in his first season as head coach
• Became an all-American in playing at Wayland from 2001-03 and holds multiple school records
• Played and coached professional basketball the past 12 years, most recently in Australia

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

#22 Lou Dunbar: G; 6' 3"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#22 Lou Dunbar
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

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

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#22 Lou Dunbar

#3 Ridell Camidge

Players Mentioned

#5 Terence Bonhomme

#22 Lou Dunbar

#3 Ridell Camidge