3:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center
THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University finishes a stretch of four games in seven days with a home matchup with Panhandle State
• 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 fought hard before succumbing to Wayland Baptist (Texas) 76-75 on Thursday at Abe Lemons Arena. Oklahoma City (8-5, 3-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) snatched a season-low 27 rebounds
• Anthony Davis, a 6-foot-7 junior from Lewisville, Texas, supplied OCU with 17 points and five rebounds. Davis has scored in double figures in five consecutive contests. He has averaged 14.6 points and 8.8 rebounds a game with a 51.1 percent field-goal percentage during that time. On the season, Davis accumulates 12.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.23 steals a contest
• Mark Howell, a 5-11 senior from Grand Prairie, Texas, picked up 17 points, nine assists and four steals. Howell piled up seven points in the final six seconds of the contest, nailing a trey as time ran out. Howell turns in 8.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.39 thefts per game
• The Stars shoot 77.9 percent from the free-throw line to rank fifth in NAIA Division I. Compare OCU with the rest of the NAIA statistically this season here
• OCU went to 12th in the newest NAIA 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
• OCU improved to 18-2 all-time against Panhandle State with a 101-90 win Feb. 8, 2018 in Goodwell, Okla. Eric McCollum contributed 13 points, five rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes
ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Panhandle State dropped a 64-59 decision to Southwestern Christian on Thursday in Bethany, Okla. Panhandle State (7-6, 2-5 SAC) surrendered an eight-point second-half advantage
• Alan Hodge, a 6-2 senior, had 15 points and four assists. Hodge averages 16.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.09 steals per game
• Breiman Alexander, a 5-11 senior, leads the nation with 25.6 points and 4.55 3-pointers per game
• The Aggies hit 79.7 percent from the free-throw stripe to rate second in the NAIA
• Panhandle State held the 11th spot in the preseason SAC coaches poll
ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (68-36, 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
Aaron Coombs (first season with Panhandle State)
• Notched his first victory as Panhandle State head coach Oct. 30 against Arlington Baptist (Texas) 87-65 in Plainview, Texas
• Served as interim head coach and top assistant to Brett Weiberg in five years at Missouri Western State
• Previously coached as an assistant at Missouri Science and Technology and Northern Oklahoma in Tonkawa, Okla.
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 2018-19
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes enters 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
