OCU vs. Randall men's basketball preview

Randall collected its first win over OCU in most previous meeting

Eric Wattree averages 10.3 points a game for the Stars.

Men's Basketball | 11/12/2018 4:48:00 PM

7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University returns to Abe Lemons Arena after winning both its games in the Mid-America Christian Classic last week
• The Stars split their last two contests against Randall, with each winning their home game
• 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 sailed to a 102-90 victory over Northern New Mexico in its second game of the Mid-America Christian Classic. The Stars (3-1) dominated the Eagles in rebounds (44-30) and free throws made (26-15)
• Chris Williams, a 6-foot-2 senior from Denver, led the Stars with 31 points, six rebounds and five assists. Williams ended the two-game tilt in the Mid-America Christian Classic with a total of 53 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. In 2018-19, Williams averages 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.25 steals per contest while hitting 54.5 percent from the floor. He ranks seventh in the NAIA in scoring average
• Trae Bryant, a 6-1 junior from Wilmington, N.C., notched a season-high in 21 points on the night. Bryant supplies the Stars with 9.8 points and 2.8 assists a game
• OCU ranks 18th in NAIA Division I in total scoring offense per game (96.25), 17th in offensive rebounds per game (14), 17th in total rebound margin (13)
• OCU has been slotted at No. 5 in the preseason 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 installed as the preseason favorite in the Sooner Athletic Conference according to the preseason coaches poll. OCU owns 13 SAC regular-season titles and nine SAC Tournament crowns
• Oklahoma City leads the all-time series against Randall 4-1. Randall handed OCU a 116-113 overtime defeat on Nov. 29, 2017 in Moore, Okla.

ABOUT THE SAINTS
• Randall, the three-time defending NCCAA Division II national champion, is coming off a 97-82 road loss to University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Friday. USAO outrebounded the Saints 55-27 and held Randall to 35.3 percent from the field. Randall stands at 1-3
• Antonio Wilson, a 5-7 junior from Oklahoma City, came off the bench and delivered a team-high 17 points in Saturday's loss. Wilson is averaging 10.5 points and 2.3 assists per game this year
• Kashus Lyons, a 6-2 senior from Abilene, Texas, leads the Saints in scoring, averaging 18 points. He tallied 22 points and six rebounds against in Friday's loss
• Randall is allowing opponents to score an average of 87.3 points per game

ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (63-32, fourth season with OCU)
• Patel has guided three OCU all-Americans, including the Stars' first first-teamer since 2008, 2017 Sooner Athletic Conference player of the year, the 2017 and 2018 SAC co-defensive player of the year, a finalist for the Dark Horse Dunker competition, 11 all-conference performers and four academic all-SAC choices. He is the 2018 John Hudson SAC coach of the year
• 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

Mark Berokoff (104-84, seventh season with Randall)
• Berokoff has led the Saints to three consecutive NCCAA Division II national championships
• He came to Randall after one year as the director of basketball operations for the Texas State men's basketball team
• Berokoff has also served as an administrative assistant at Louisiana Tech. While there, he was part of one of the best seasons in the school's history with a record of 24-11 and a berth in the College Insider Tournament quarterfinals

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 men's basketball season pass and $79.95 for an all-season pass in 2017-18
• Andrew Himes adds the commentary. Himes enters his eighth 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

#2 Chris Williams: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#3 Trae Bryant: G; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#2 Chris Williams
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#3 Trae Bryant
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#2 Chris Williams

#3 Trae Bryant

Players Mentioned

#2 Chris Williams

#3 Trae Bryant