8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6
Sheaffer Center | Waxahachie, Texas

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University looks to continue surging up the Sooner Athletic Conference standings against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas)
• The Stars hold fourth place in the SAC standings
 
ABOUT THE STARS
• Oklahoma City flattened Southwestern Christian 104-86 on Tuesday night at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars (15-7, 10-6 Sooner Athletic Conference) limited Southwestern Christian to 38.7 shooting from the field and 2-for-21 shooting from 3-point range
• Chris Williams, a 6-foot-2 senior from Denver, accumulated 41 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Williams knocked down 11 of 22 field-goal tries, 6 of 11 3-point attempts and 13 of 15 from behind the foul line. He produces 19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.50 steals per game. Williams nails 86.5 percent from the free-throw line to rate sixth in the NAIA
• Elijah Christman, a 6-5 senior from Justin, Texas, delivered 22 points and five rebounds. Christman hit 8 of his 10 shots from the field. Christman has averaged 16.4 points a game over the past seven games. Christman provides OCU with 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest. He leads the NAIA with 55.3 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc
• The Stars down 78.0 percent of their free-throw shots for the fourth-best team percentage 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 holds a 7-5 edge in the all-time series. Oklahoma City pounded SAGU 106-70 on Jan. 19 at Abe Lemons Arena. Williams spearheaded OCU with 23 points, six assists and five treys

ABOUT THE LIONS
• Southwestern Assemblies of God got untracked with an 87-80 win over Texas Wesleyan on Tuesday in Waxahachie, Texas. Southwestern Assemblies (15-9, 8-8 SAC) hit 56.9 percent from the floor to leave behind a three-game losing skid
• Nykolas Mason, a 6-6 freshman, posted 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Mason fuels the Lions with 18.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.18 thefts per game
• SAGU received votes in the most recent national rankings
• The Lions rank second among the NAIA with 10.26 steals per contest
• Coaches placed Southwestern Assemblies of God at third in the preseason SAC poll
 
ABOUT THE COACHES
Vinay Patel (75-38, 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 81-52 in five years
 
Delton Deal (39-19, 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
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