7:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19
Sid Richardson Center | Fort Worth, Texas
THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University looks to derail Texas Wesleyan in a Thursday night Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball clash
• The Stars have won their last two away games, while Texas Wesleyan has taken its last three home contests
• This matchup marks the start of the second half of league play with OCU playing the second of the home-and-home series against each foe the remainder of the season
ABOUT THE STARS
• The Stars rolled to an 92-68 victory over Mid-America Christian on Saturday in El Reno, Okla. Oklahoma City (9-8, 7-4 SAC) hit a season-best 56.9 percent from the field while stopping a six-game losing skid to Mid-America Christian
• Brandon Jackson, a 6-foot-6 junior studying human performance from Westmont, Calif., fueled OCU's effort with 25 points, eight rebounds, three steals and a season-best five 3-pointers while shooting 10-for-16 from the field. Jackson, put OCU on top for good by nailing four treys in a row late in the first half, burying a 3 from the right wing to give the Stars a 42-34 lead with 2:07 left. Jackson records 14.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.53 steals per game this season
• Avery Jackson, a 6-3 freshman political science major from Frisco, Texas, turned in his first double-double as a Star with 22 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. He sank 6 of his 9 field-goal attempts. Jackson posts 17.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.41 steals per contest with a 50.5 field-goal percentage and 44.1 percent 3-point shooting on the season
• OCU ranks 25th in the NAIA bringing down 28.9 defensive rebounds a game in 2022-23
• 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
• Oklahoma City has an 18-16 edge in the series vs. Texas Wesleyan. The Stars won the most recent encounter 81-73 on Nov. 17, 2022 at Abe Lemons Arena in the conference opener. Avery Jackson topped OCU with 28 points
• Texas Wesleyan prevailed against OCU 67-65 to win the national championship March 21, 2006 in Kansas City, Mo.
ABOUT THE RAMS
• Texas Wesleyan knocked down Science & Arts 82-74 on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas. The Rams (10-8, 7-5 SAC) improved to 7-3 at home this season
• Gavin Harris, a 6-4 junior, had 20 points and six rebounds while shooting 7-for-9 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point land. He averages 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.80 steals a game and ranks ninth in the NAIA with a 54.5 percent 3-point shooting clip this season
• The Rams have averaged 32.0 made free throws per game to rank 10th nationally
• League coaches put Texas Wesleyan at fifth in the SAC preseason poll
ABOUT THE COACHES
Mark Berokoff (second season with OCU, 26-22)
• 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
• 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
Brennen Shingleton (199-117, 11th season with Texas Wesleyan)
• Texas Wesleyan has made the NAIA Championship Tournament five of the past six years under Shingleton, who served as an assistant coach and later as an associate head coach for 10 years prior to becoming head coach of the Rams
• 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
• Texas Wesleyan will provide live video and statistics of the game
• Fans can take advantage of BlueFrame's video technology by installing the SAC Sports Network app on their devices, ranging from Apple devices like iPads, iPhones or AppleTV to your Roku or Android device. Follow SAC action from your living room by searching for SAC Sports Network on the Apple Store, Google Play Store, Amazon Fire App Store or Roku Channel Search and install the app.
