3:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center
THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University looks to keep pace in the competitive Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball race against Bacone
• OCU stands a game out of first place in the SAC standings
• The community is invited to Cookies with Santa in the student lounge of the Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday. There will be cookie decorating, coloring and crafts with OCU mascot Starsky and picture-taking with Santa
• 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 conquered John Brown (Ark.) 89-75 on Thursday, Dec. 6 in Siloam Springs, Ark. Oklahoma City (7-2, 2-1 SAC) took the win over 23rd-ranked John Brown in its first game against a ranked foe this season
• Chris Williams, a 6-foot-2 senior from Denver, recorded 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals while knocking down 5 of 9 3-point attempts. He has provided OCU with 22.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.00 steals a contest while shooting 43.4 percent from 3-point land. Williams ranks fifth nationally in scoring and 12th in free-throw percentage (87.5 percent)
• Anthony Davis, a 6-7 junior from Lewisville, Texas, amassed 16 points, six rebounds and four steals Thursday. Davis averages 11.6 points and 5.6 rebounds a game
• The Stars sink 78.3 percent of their free throws to rate fifth in the NAIA, while Eric McCollum grabs 3.67 offensive rebounds per game to rank fourth nationally. To see where OCU ranks among the NAIA Division I statistical leaders, click here
• OCU moved to 14th in the latest NAIA Division I rankings after holding the fifth spot in the preseason top 25. Oklahoma City has made 24 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 first place 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 scorched Bacone 97-63 on Jan. 25, 2018 at Abe Lemons Arena. Ridell Camidge posted 21 points to lead the Stars. The Stars have a 6-0 all-time record against Bacone
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
• Bacone dropped a road contest Thursday in Bethany, Okla., against Southwestern Christian. Bacone (2-7, 0-4 SAC) gave up 70 points in the paint
• Christian Brown, a 6-2 junior, had a team-high 15 points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists. Brown records 11.6 points and 3.0 rebounds a game
• Ulandus Jones, a 6-1 senior, chipped in 15 points and three rebounds. Jones averages 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds a game
• The Warriors rate ninth nationally with 10.13 steals per game, while Tyson Tiger ranks seventh in the NAIA with 2.56 steals a game
• SAC coaches predicted Bacone to finish last in the league in the preseason poll
ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (67-33, 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
Carl Cowan (2-7, first season with Bacone)
• Cowan graduated from Northeastern State University in 2006 with a bachelor of science degree in elementary education
• He started his coaching career at Locust Grove High School in 2006 and spent the last 10 years at Beggs
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 will call the action via the OCU Stretch portal. Himes is in his eighth season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 11 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
