Mark Howell ranks fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference in assists per game (3.8).

Men's Basketball 1/18/2019 4:10:00 PM

OCU vs. Southwestern Assemblies of God men's basketball preview

Stars return home to Abe Lemons Arena for showdown with Southwestern Assemblies of God

3:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University ramps up for a Sooner Athletic Conference clash against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas)
• 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
• Oklahoma City edged Texas Wesleyan 72-70 on Thursday night at Abe Lemons Arena. Trae Bryant delivered a 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining and a free throw with eight seconds showing for the Stars (9-6, 4-5 Sooner Athletic Conference)
• Chris Williams, a 6-foot-2 senior from Denver, propelled OCU with 22 points and two steals. Williams shot 7-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, matching the season-high five treys he hit Dec. 1 at Central Christian (Kan.). He amasses 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.60 steals per game
• Eric McCollum, a 6-9 senior from Newburgh, N.Y., turned in 13 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. McCollum hit 6 of his 7 field-goal attempts with his fifth double-double of the season. He ranks sixth in the NAIA with 3.4 offensive rebounds per game after grabbing five Thursday. McCollum contributes 7.7 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest
• The Stars knock in 77.2 percent of their free-throw attempts to rate fifth in NAIA Division I. Compare OCU with the rest of the NAIA statistically this season here
• 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
• Southwestern Assemblies of God leads the overall series 7-4. The Lions topped OCU 77-70 on Feb. 23, 2018 in Waxahachie, Texas. McCollum picked up 19 points and 10 rebounds

ABOUT THE LIONS
• Southwestern Assemblies of God fell 81-78 to Southwestern Christian on Thursday in Waxahachie, Texas. Cameron Hill nailed a trey with eight seconds left, and Joshua Kashila missed the tying 3-point shot as time ran out for Southwestern Assemblies (13-5, 6-4 SAC)
• Hill, a 6-foot sophomore, accumulated 16 points, six rebounds and three steals. Hill averages 12.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.09 steals per game
• Kashila, a 5-11 senior, had 16 points and seven rebounds Thursday. Kashila picks up 18.7 points and 5.4 rebounds a game
• The Lions lead the NAIA with 12.09 steals per contest and 387 steals this season
• Coaches placed Southwestern Assemblies of God at third in the preseason SAC poll

ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (69-37, 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. His overall coaching mark stands at 75-51 in five years

Delton Deal (37-15, second season with Southwestern Assemblies of God)
• Southwestern Assemblies of God took its first SAC Tournament crown 90-81 over Wayland Baptist on March 3, 2018 in Siloam Springs, Ark. Montana Western knocked SAGU out of the NAIA Tournament first round 105-96
• Came to Southwestern Assemblies of God after leading York (Neb.) to a 137-88 record in seven years
• Deal directed Fort Worth Bethesda Christian (Texas) to the 2007 Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 3A state title and a 97-28 record in four years

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

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Players Mentioned

#34 Eric McCollum: C; 6' 9"; Senior

#2 Chris Williams: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#3 Trae Bryant: G; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#34 Eric McCollum
: 6' 9"; Senior
: C

#2 Chris Williams
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#3 Trae Bryant
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#34 Eric McCollum

#2 Chris Williams

#3 Trae Bryant

Players Mentioned

#34 Eric McCollum

#2 Chris Williams

#3 Trae Bryant