Eric Wattree collected 12 points, three rebounds and three steals against USAO on Jan. 23.

Men's Basketball 2/21/2020 1:15:00 PM

OCU vs. USAO men's basketball preview

Stars close out regular-season home schedule for 2019-20

3:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22
Abe Lemons Arena inside Freede Center

THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University entertains USAO in its home regular-season finale
• The Stars will recognize the contributions of their seniors
• 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 dropped a 99-92 decision to Mid-America Christian on Thursday night at the Gaulke Activity Center in Oklahoma City. The Stars (14-13, 6-11 SAC) led early, but second-ranked Mid-America rallied for the victory
• Anthony Davis, a 6-foot-7 senior from Lewisville, Texas, forged his seventh double-double of the season with 20 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Davis nailed 7-for-8 from the field, both his 3-point shots and 4 of 6 free throws. Davis supplies OCU with 13.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a contest while hitting 52.1 percent from the field
• Rashaun Coleman, a 6-foot junior from Houston, turned in 19 points, six assists and two steals. Coleman shot 8-for-13 from the floor. Coleman produces 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists and 1.22 steals per game
• Oklahoma City rates 13th in field-goal percentage (49.1 percent) among NAIA Division I. Eric Wattree cans 45 percent from 3-point territory to rank 20th nationally. 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 has a 39-22 advantage in the overall series against USAO
• USAO outlasted the Stars 96-90 in overtime Jan. 23 in Chickasha, Okla. Wattree sank a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining to help send the game to the extra period. Eddie Smith sparked OCU with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists

ABOUT THE DROVERS
• USAO nabbed a 105-93 win over Southwestern Christian in Chickasha, Okla. The Drovers (13-14, 7-10 SAC) reached 100 points for the fourth time this season
• Colen Gaynor, a 6-5 junior, had season bests with 28 points and 18 rebounds while dishing out four assists for his third double-double of the season. Gaynor averages 11.2 points and 6.9 rebounds a game
• USAO ranks fourth nationally with 124 blocked shots
• The Drovers held the second spot in the preseason SAC 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

Chris Francis (92-62, fifth season with USAO)
• Francis led the Drovers to the SAC Tournament championship game in his first season at the helm of the program, and he has taken USAO to the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament in each of the last three seasons. USAO reached the quarterfinal round in 2019 before losing to William Carey (Miss.) in the round of eight
• Prior to his time at USAO, Francis was an assistant at LSU-Shreveport for a year and helped lead the Pilots to the NAIA Fab Four, and he also made an appearance in the NAIA tournament quarterfinals as a student assistant at his alma mater – Rogers State in 2012
• Played collegiately at Rogers State and was one of the first recruits at RSU, and he ended his career as the Hillcats' all-time leader in games played (123), steals (139), and minutes played (2,498)

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

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

#22 Eric Wattree: G; 6' 3"; Senior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#22 Eric Wattree
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

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

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