3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3
vs. The Master's (Calif.)
4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4
vs. Ottawa (Ariz.)
4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5
at No. 1 Arizona Christian
Arizona Christian Events Center | Glendale, Ariz.
 
THE MATCHUPS
 
• Oklahoma City University takes on The Master's (Calif.) in its men's basketball regular-season opener at 3 p.m. CDT (1 p.m. MST) Thursday
• The Stars begin play in the Arizona Christian Fultz Tournament against Ottawa (Ariz.) at 4 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. MST) Friday
• OCU faces Arizona Christian, top-ranked in the NAIA, on 4 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. MST) Saturday. The Stars take on the No. 1 team in the NAIA for the first time since March 13, 2013, when OCU fell to top-ranked Columbia (Mo.) 68-37 in the first round of the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. The Stars dropped an exhibition to Lubbock Christian (Texas), ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II, 93-48 on Dec. 6, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas
 
 ABOUT THE STARS   
 
• Oklahoma City was defeated 89-53 by the University of Oklahoma on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in an exhbition in Norman, Okla. The Stars met an NCAA Division I team for the first time since Nov. 10, 2014
• Kori Guest, a 6-foot-6 senior from Tulsa, Okla., provided the Stars with 14 points and eight rebounds on 5-for-14 shooting. Guest compiled 13.0 points and 4.6 rebounds a game in 2021-22
• Dravon Clayborn, a 6-2 senior from Evanston, Ill., contributed 12 points, four rebounds and three assists
• The Stars put together a record of 17-14 last year and fell to Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals after defeating Central Christian (Kan.) They averaged 76.8 points per game and outscored their opponents by 26 points on the season
• The Stars came in seventh in the preseason SAC coaches poll. OCU owns 13 SAC regular-season championships and 10 SAC Tournament titles. Oklahoma City has advanced to the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament 25 times all-time and has won six national championships in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007 and 2008
• OCU owns a 1-0 all-time record against The Master's. On March 14, 1996, OCU ousted The Master's from the NAIA Division I Championship Tournament 108-85 in Tulsa, Okla. Reggie Garrett led the Chiefs with 31 points
• The Stars face Ottawa (Ariz.) and Arizona Christian for the first time in the upcoming tournament
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
 
• The Master's finished last season 20-11 and averaged 73.5 points per game
• Kaleb Lowery, a 6-8 forward, averaged a team-best 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds a game as a freshman last season. He was named to the All-Golden State Athletic Conference
• The Mustangs lost to Hope International (Calif.) in the second round of the GSAC Tournament

ABOUT THE SPIRIT

• Ottawa (Ariz.) ended last year with a record of 25-9 winning the SGAC Tournament and going onto the NAIA championship tournament for the first time in school history
• Josiah De'laCerda, the 6-8 junior from Fresno, Calif., led the team with 17.2 points per game, while Kam Malbrough, the 5-9 junior, supplied 12.4 points and 4.1 assists last season
• OUAZ took the No. 4 slot in the GSAC Men's preseason coaches' poll. The Spirit received 56 points

ABOUT THE FIRESTORM
 
• Top-ranked Arizona Christian went 31-5 last year losing in the NAIA championship tournament to Loyola. The Firestorm have won the GSAC Tournament in three straight seasons
• Angelo Johnson, a 5-8 senior, averaged 12.2 points a game with a 51.3 field-goal percentage in 2021-22
• Arizona Christian averaged 80.1 points last season along with a 48.5 field-goal percentage
• The Firestorm have been favored to win the GSAC in the preseason
 
MEET THE COACHES
 
Mark Berokoff (17-14, second year at OCU)

• Mark Berokoff directed Oklahoma City to a 17-14 record in his first season as the Stars' head coach. The Stars collected the No. 3 seed in the SAC Tournament and earned their most conference wins since 2009-10 with a 15-7 mark
• Berokoff directed Randall to three national championships and a national runner-up showing in nine years as head coach of the Saints. Berokoff led Randall to a 147-122 mark. Randall annually squared off with SAC teams and knocked off OCU twice in that span. His college head-coaching record stood at 164-136 in 10 years before the season
• Berokoff produced five national player of the year honorees, 16 all-Americans, three national tournament outstanding player award winners and one scholar all-American with Randall. Berkoff became two-time national coach of the year  
• Berokoff's coaching career spans the high school, college and professional levels. His combined head-coaching record over 20 years in the college and prep ranks was 389-213 entering the 2022-23 season

Jeff Rutter (210-81, 11th year at Arizona Christian)

• Won the GSAC regular-season Championship for first time in program history in 2020-21
• Firestorm has qualified for the NAIA National Championships seven out of the last nine season
• Six different players have earned All-GSAC honors while three have earned NAIA All-American second team or honorable mention accolades under Coach Rutter
• Named GSAC coach of the year last year
• The most winningest coach in ACU history
• Played college ball at Concordia University and Cypress College 

Kelvin Starr (146-37 in his seventh year at The Master's)

• NABC-DAIA Division I Coach of the Year winner in '17-18
• 3X GSAC Coach of the Year winner
• Named NCCAA Coach of the Year in 2004-05 and GSAC Athletic Director of the Year in 2006-07
• Led the Mustangs to four consecutive NAIA national tournament appearances from 2017-20
• Won 27 games and advanced to second round in the NAIA tournament in his first year as head coach
• Former head coach of Christian Heritage where he led the Hawks to a No. 7 national ranking and a NCCAA national title

Matt Keeley (69-68 in five seasons at OUAZ) 

• Named the NCCAA West Region Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2022
• Won GSAC title and went onto the NAIA Nation Championship Round of 32
• Named head coach in 2017 and has been only coach in programs history
• OUAZ has had three NCCAA All-Americans and two All-GSAC selections
• Elected to the MidAmerica Nazarene Hall of Fame in 2014 after his playing career 

ON THE AIR
 
• Arizona Christian will offer live stats and a live stream of all games this weekend