Men's Basketball | 1/23/2019 2:29:00 PM
7:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center
THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City welcomes Sooner Athletic Conference opponent Central Christian (Kan.) to Abe Lemons Arena, aiming to sweep the season series
• 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 University ripped Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) 106-80 on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (10-6, 5-5 SAC) outscored SAGU 38-16 in the paint
• Chris Williams, a 6-foot-2 senior from Denver, led OCU with 23 points, six assists, three rebounds and a steal. Williams shot 7-for-12 from the floor and 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, matching the season-high five treys he hit Dec. 1 at Central Christian (Kan.) and Jan. 17 at Texas Wesleyan. He amasses 18.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.60 steals per game
• Elijah Christman, a 6-5 senior from Justin, Texas, turned in 20 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Christman hit 7 of his 13 field-goal attempts, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Christman contributes 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds a contest
• The Stars knock in 77.4 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
• The Stars lead the all-time series 2-1. Oklahoma City University prevailed 76-71 over Central Christian (Kan.) on Dec. 1, 2018 at Dr. Jerry E. Alexander Arena in McPherson, Kan. Williams recorded 22 points, four steals, three assists and a block
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Central Christian dropped a 73-62 contest to Mid-America Christian on Saturday in McPherson, Kan. Mid-America Christian shot 50 percent from beyond the arc which was too much for Central Christian (9-9, 3-8 SAC)
• Steve Kuminga, a 6-foot-6 senior, gathered 18 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Kuminga averages 14.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.33 steals per game
• The Tigers rank fifth the NAIA with 10.0 steals per contest and 180 steals this season, which rates ninth in the nation
• Central Christian was slated 10th in the preseason SAC coaches poll
ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (70-37, 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 76-51 in five years
Tony Romero (183-125, 10th season with Central Christian)
• Romero and his staff guided the Tiger's to 175 wins in the last nine seasons, including wins over nationally ranked teams and sightings in the NAIA national rankings off and on throughout those years.
• He was a four-year starter for the Tigers and during his playing career at Central Christian, he was voted "Newcomer of the Year," was a team captain three years in a row and was voted All-Conference MCAC player his senior season.
• Romero also earned records on the court as one of Central's career leader in points, three point field goals made and free throws made
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
