Darrion Willies posted his sixth double-figure scoring performance of the season Saturday.

Men's Basketball 1/8/2020 1:49:00 PM

OCU vs. Texas Wesleyan men's basketball preview

Stars tangle with ranked team for second time this season

7:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9
Abe Lemons Arena inside the Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University tests itself against nationally-ranked Texas Wesleyan at home
• The Stars fell to third-ranked Wayland Baptist (Texas) 68-54 on Nov. 23, 2019 at Abe Lemons Arena in their only tussle with a top-25 team this season
• 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
• The Stars edged Central Christian (Kan.) in overtime 83-79 on Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena. OCU (8-4, 2-2 SAC) scored the first seven points of the extra period and maintained the lead for 37:51 of the game's 45 minutes
• Trae Bryant, a 6-foot-1 senior from Wilmington, N.C., provided Oklahoma City with a season-best 16 points and five assists as well as the tying layup with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation. Bryant, who made his season debut Jan. 2, has recorded 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists a game and a 50 percent shooting percentage from beyond the 3-point arc
• Rashaun Coleman, a 6-foot junior from Houston, totaled 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Coleman collects 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.33 steals per game
• Anthony Davis, a 6-7 senior from Lewisville, Texas, picked up his third consecutive double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Davis averaged 22.0 points and 10.5 rebounds with 66.7 percent shooting from the field during Dec. 30-Jan. 5 to nab SAC player of the week. Davis turns in 12.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with a 50.5 percent field-goal percentage
• Oklahoma City leads NAIA Division I by holding opponents to 26.5 percent 3-point shooting this season. Compare OCU with the rest of the NAIA statistically this season here
• The Stars have been slotted to take fifth place in the SAC according to the preseason coaches poll. OCU owns 13 SAC regular-season championships and 10 SAC Tournament titles. 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
• OCU leads the all-time series against Texas Wesleyan 15-13. The Stars rallied past Texas Wesleyan 82-73 on Feb. 9, 2019 at Abe Lemons Arena in the last meeting. Davis helped OCU overcome a 12-point first-half deficit with 16 points, six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals

ABOUT THE RAMS
• Texas Wesleyan decimated Wayland Baptist 97-50 on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas in a matchup of teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. The 22nd-ranked Rams (10-3, 3-1) sank a season-best 13 treys in dealing ninth-ranked Wayland Baptist its worst defeat since a 100-56 loss to Oklahoma Baptist on Jan. 17, 2009
• Peyton Sallee, a 6-foot sophomore, powered Texas Wesleyan with a season-best 26 points and five 3-pointers. Sallee averages 12.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.23 thefts per game
• The Rams score 93.4 points per game to rank ninth in NAIA Division I
• Texas Wesleyan took the seventh spot in the preseason SAC coaches poll

MEET THE COACHES
Hank Aldous (first season with OCU)
• Served as graduate assistant at the University of Denver prior to coming to OCU
• Became Southern Athletic Association player of the year as a senior at Hendrix (Ark.) during his playing career
• Aldous led Hendrix to two conference titles and its first conference tournament crown ever, becoming the SAA Tournament most valuable player. Hendrix made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament

Brennen Shingleton (149-88, eighth season with Texas Wesleyan)
• Shingleton served as an assistant coach and later as an associate head coach for 10 years prior to becoming Texas Wesleyan head coach
• 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
• 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, $29.95 for a men's basketball season pass and $74.95 for an all-season pass for 2019-20
• Andrew Himes will provide the play-by-play. 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

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

#23 Anthony Davis: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#2 Rashaun Coleman: G; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

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

#23 Anthony Davis
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#2 Rashaun Coleman
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#3 Trae Bryant

#23 Anthony Davis

#2 Rashaun Coleman

Players Mentioned

#3 Trae Bryant

#23 Anthony Davis

#2 Rashaun Coleman