Men's Basketball 3/7/2018 7:25:00 PM

Stars face Xavier in NAIA Tournament

Eighth-ranked OCU tips off vs. 25th-rated Xavier at 3 p.m. March 14

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma City University makes its fourth consecutive NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament appearance starting with a 3 p.m. tip-off Wednesday, March 14 against Xavier (La.) at Municipal Auditorium.
The Stars (23-8) became the No. 2 seed in the Naismith bracket and the No. 8 team in the most recent national top 25. Six-time national champion Oklahoma City advanced to the NAIA Tournament for the 24th time as an at-large choice.
OCU won national titles in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008. Oklahoma City has gone 47-16 in the NAIA Tournament all-time.
Oklahoma City shared the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season championship, winning outright or becoming regular-season co-champion for the 12th time. The Stars reeled in their first SAC regular-season crown and back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2007-08.
Five Stars became all-conference choices. Ridell Camidge nabbed first-team all-SAC, while Terence Bonhomme took second-team acclaim. Samuel Williams was a third-team all-conference pick, and Ivan Saicic was honorable-mention all-conference. Jonathan Ellis took SAC defensive player of the year. SAC coach of the year Vinay Patel leads OCU.
Camidge, a 6-foot-4 senior from Wilmington, N.C., produces 18.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game with a 41.6 percent 3-point shooting percentage. Camidge's 3.14 3-pointers per game ranks seventh in the NAIA.
Bonhomme, a 6-foot senior from St. Martinville, La., provides OCU with 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists a contest. Bonhomme and Ellis, a 5-7 senior from Powder Springs, Ga., joined the Stars after serving in the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Bonhomme became the 2016-17 Jim Wade Award winner, making him OCU's male student-athlete of the year.
Williams, a 6-8 senior from Reno, Nev., supplies the Stars with 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds a game with a 60.6 percent field-goal percentage, which ranks sixth among the NAIA. Saicic, a 6-7 senior from Belgrade, Serbia, averages 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest.
Oklahoma City piles up 89.1 points a game to rank 10th in NAIA Division I. Check the Stars' current statistical rankings by going here.
Xavier, ranked 25th, made the tournament as an at-large selection and shared the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season title. Xavier (24-8) fell in the conference tournament title game. Virgil Davidson, a 5-8 junior, tops the Gold Rush with 14.4 points per game and garnered second-team all-league honors.
For ticket information, click here. Stretch Internet, the NAIA's official video streaming company of select NAIA national championship events, will be broadcasting the first 30 games from Kansas City. Day passes cost $9.95, while an all-tournament pass with 30 games is available for $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click here. All of the games of the national championship will be available via live stats here.
ESPN3 will broadcast the NAIA Division I Tournament championship game live 7 p.m. CDT March 20.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#24 Ivan Saicic: F; 6' 7"; 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

#24 Ivan Saicic
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

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

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