Men's Basketball | 1/16/2019 5:38:00 PM
8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17
Sid Richardson Center | Fort Worth, Texas
THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University hits the road to take on Texas Wesleyan
• The all-time series between the two programs is tied 13-13
• Both teams come into the contest losing four of their last five games
ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City University fell short to Panhandle State 90-86 on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. Oklahoma City (8-6, 3-5 Sooner Athletic Conference) outscored Panhandle State by 30 points in the paint 38-8
• Creed Kemp, a 6-foot-5 a junior from Wewoka, Okla., provided OCU with a season-high 16 points and five rebounds. Kemp accumulates 8.3 points and 3.0 rebounds a game with a 77.8 percent field-goal percentage on the season
• Mark Howell, a 5-11 senior from Grand Prairie, Texas, picked up 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Howell turns in 8.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.43 thefts per game
• The Stars shoot 77.8 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 dropped out of 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 defeated Texas Wesleyan 77-74 Feb. 25, 2018 Abe Lemons Arena. Ridell Camidge and Samuel Williams led the Stars with 17 points each
ABOUT THE RAMS
• Texas Wesleyan fell 82-77 against Langston on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas Wesleyan (8-9, 3-6 SAC) gave up an eight-point second-half lead
• Sam Lorenzen, a 6-4 junior, had 20 points and two rebounds. Lorenzen averages 9.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists
• Peyton Sallee, a 6-0 freshman, chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Sallee provides 8.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game
• Texas Wesleyan was selected to finish second in the preseason SAC coaches poll
ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (68-37, 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
Brennen Shingleton (133-78, seventh season with TWU)
• Shingleton is serving his sixth season as head coach at Texas Wesleyan after serving as an assistant coach and later as an associate head coach for 10 years
• He reached 100 wins during the team's National Championship run in 2017, making him the fastest coach to reach the milestone in the history of the program
• Shingleton is a two-time SAC coach of the year and was named NAIA national coach of the year in 2017
ON THE AIR
• Texas Wesleyan athletics provides live and on-demand audio, stats and video of its contests on its Stretch portal
