OCU vs. Panhandle State men's basketball preview

The Stars will open conference play Thursday

Curtis Osceola averages 4.0 points per game this season

Men's Basketball | 11/20/2019 4:13:00 PM

7:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University opens Sooner Athletic Conference play against Panhandle State
• Panhandle State also opens conference play. They finished 10-12 in SAC play a year ago
• 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 got handed a 70-67 loss against Randall on Nov. 21 in Moore, Okla. OCU (5-2) buried 11 3-pointers to close their non-conference slate
• Eddie Smith, a 6-foot-2 freshman from Birmingham, Ala., turned in a season-high 17 points for OCU. Smith also collected two assists and three treys in 19 minutes of play. Smith produces 8.7 points and 2.6 rebounds a game with a 45.5 percent 3-point shooting clip and 81.3 percent free-throw shooting mark
• Kealon Clayborne, a 6-3 junior from Cedar Hill, Texas, posted 14 points and two assists on 4-of-8 from 3-point territory against Randall. Clayborne records 9.1 points and 1.9 assists per game while hitting 44.0 percent from the field
• OCU ranks in the top 20 in NAIA Division I by hitting 41.1 percent of their 3-point attempts. See how the Stars compare with the rest of the NAIA statistically this season here
• OCU received votes in the preseason ratings. Oklahoma City reached the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament for the 25th time last season and has won six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008
• The Stars have been slotted to take fifth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference according to the preseason coaches poll. OCU owns 13 SAC regular-season championships and 10 SAC Tournament titles
• The Stars slipped past Panhandle State 73-69 on Mar. 1, 2019 at Abe Lemons Arena, in the 2019 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals. Oklahoma City improved its all-time record against Panhandle State to 19-4. Chris Williams finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, while going 11-of-11 from the free-throw line

ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Panhandle State comes in off a loss at University of the Southwest (N.M.) on Nov. 9 in Hobbs, N.M. Panhandle State (3-2) shot 50.0 percent from the field in the defeat
• DK Sumo IV, a 5-10 junior, finished with 13 points while shooting 6-for-11 from the field in 33 minutes. Sumo also collected five assists and three steals. He averages 10.2 points and 2.8 steals per game on the season
• The Aggies score 89.5 points per contest as a team to rank seventh among the NAIA
• Panhandle State stood 11th in the preseason SAC coaches poll

ABOUT THE COACHES
Stan Holt (5-2, first season with OCU)
• Holt arrived to OCU after directing fellow SAC school Langston to national prominence, putting together four consecutive 20-win seasons in his five seasons with the Lions. During his time there, Holt also won a conference tournament title in 2016 and reached the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament quarterfinals in 2017
• Langston produced five all-Americans and 18 all-conference performers under Holt
• Prior to his days at Langston, Holt spent time on the coaching staff at the University of Southern California. The Trojans appeared in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments during his tenure
• Holt's head-coaching record stands at 112-52 in his sixth year

Mark Laird (3-2, first season with Panhandle State)
• Laird brought a total of 14 years of coaching expertise to the Aggies, most recently two seasons at SAC-member Southwestern Christian. During that two-season span, the Eagles formed a 34-32 record and four team members earned all-SAC honors.
• Prior to his time at SCU, Laird was the Associate Head Coach at his alma mater, University of Valley Forge (2015-17) and an assistant coach at Texas A&M International University (2011-15
• Laird was the head coach at Bethany University (Calif.) in 2010-11. He also made stops at Sacramento State, Hawai'i Pacific and Shepherd University in the 2000s

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 men's basketball season pass and $79.95 for an all-season pass in 2019-20
• Andrew Himes calls the action. Himes enters his ninth season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 12 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

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

#1 Kealon Clayborne: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#13 Eddie Smith: G; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#1 Kealon Clayborne
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#13 Eddie Smith
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#2 Chris Williams

#1 Kealon Clayborne

#13 Eddie Smith

Players Mentioned

#2 Chris Williams

#1 Kealon Clayborne

#13 Eddie Smith