OCU vs. Southwestern Christian men's basketball preview

Stars aim for home-and-home series sweep of Southwestern Christian

Walter Rickett needs your vote to continue in the Dark Horse Dunker competition. Go to DarkHorseDunker.com daily.

Men's Basketball | 2/14/2018 4:30:00 PM

7:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University sets its sights on reaching 20 victories this season vs. Southwestern Christian
• The Stars will look to record back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2006-07 and 2007-08
• 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 nipped Central Christian (Kan.) 75-73 on Tuesday night in McPherson, Kan. Jonathan Ellis sank a jumper just beyond the free-throw line as time expired to boost OCU (19-6, 12-5 SAC)
• Ridell Camidge, a 6-foot-4 senior from Wilmington, N.C., posted 22 points and 12 rebounds while hitting 4 of 9 3-pointers and playing all 40 minutes. He notched his third double-double of the season. Camidge has produced 22.1 points per game the previous eight games. Camidge supplies Oklahoma City with 19.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest while shooting 43.5 percent from 3-point range. Camidge ranks fourth in the NAIA with 81 treys this season and fifth with 3.38 3-pointers per game
• Samuel Williams, a 6-8 senior from Reno, Nev., added 16 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Williams picked up his seventh double-double of 2017-18. He has registered 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds a game. Williams' 60.2 percent field-goal percentage percent rates seventh in the NAIA
• OCU ranks eighth in NAIA Division I and ranks second in the conference with 91.0 points per game. See how OCU compares with the rest of the NAIA statistically this season here
• The Stars went to 12th in the most recent NAIA Division I top 25. 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 clipped Southwestern Christian 91-89 on Jan. 13 in Bethany, Okla. Terence Bonhomme helped secure the win by sinking a bucket to put OCU ahead 91-86 with 13 seconds left. The Stars own a 9-2 all-time record against Southwestern Christian

ABOUT THE EAGLES
• Southwestern Christian pulled off a 79-78 win over 24th-ranked Texas Wesleyan on Saturday in Bethany, Okla. David Beasley's free throw with 13 seconds remaining helped seal the outcome for Southwestern Christian (15-11, 8-8 SAC)
• Shawn Scott, a 6-1 senior, totaled 16 points and four assists. Scott averages 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.13 steals a game. His 51 steals on the season ranks 10th in the NAIA
• The Eagles collect 9.25 steals a game to rank eighth nationally
• SAC coaches predicted Southwestern Christian to come in ninth in the league

MEET THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (55-28, 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

Jon Mack (first season with Southwestern Christian)
• Reeled in his 300th career win Saturday
• Arrived at Southwestern Christian after guiding Valley Forge (Pa.) to a 287 victories in 17 years
• Took Valley Forge to 11 consecutive National Christian College Athletic Association Division II Tournament trips with national runner-up finishes in 2009, 2011 and 2012
• Four-time NCCAA Division II coach of the year
• Held position of athletic director for 13 years at Valley Forge

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

VOTE RICKETT THE DARK HORSE DUNKER
• Walter Rickett of Oklahoma City made the 16 finalists for the Dark Horse Dunker competition, and he needs your help to advance. Vote for Rickett daily until noon Feb. 20 by going to darkhorsedunker.com. Learn more here

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#1 Walter Rickett: G; 6' 2"; Senior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#1 Walter Rickett
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

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

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