7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14
Bill George Arena | Siloam Springs, Ark.
THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University begins the final week of the men's basketball regular season in a Sooner Athletic Conference clash at John Brown (Ark.)
• The Stars play three games this week. OCU holds the fourth spot in the conference standings. The top four teams in the SAC host conference tournament quarterfinals Feb. 23
• This game has been postponed twice due to wintry weather in the area. The contest was originally scheduled for Jan. 24, then moved to Jan. 31, then moved to Tuesday
ABOUT THE STARS
• The Stars notched a 94-84 victory over Panhandle State on Saturday in Edmond, Okla. Oklahoma City (14-11, 12-7 SAC) nailed 27 of 35 free-throw attempts to record season highs in both categories
• Brandon Jackson, a 6-foot-6 junior studying human performance from Westmont, Calif., fueled Oklahoma City with a career-best scoring performance. Jackson stuffed the stat sheet with 34 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals, outscoring Rayquan Elliott, the NAIA's leading scorer this season who had 33 points. Jackson shot 13-for-22 from the field. He topped the 27 points he supplied OCU against Science & Arts on Nov. 19 in Chickasha, Okla. Jackson provides OCU with 14.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.44 steals per game this season
• Avery Jackson, a 6-3 freshman political science major from Frisco, Texas, totaled 19 points, four rebounds and four steals. Jackson shot 6-for-10 from the field. Jackson supplies the Stars with 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.48 thefts a contest with a 41.1 percent 3-point shooting percentage this season
• OCU averages 16.0 free throws a game to rank 12th within the NAIA 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
• OCU owns a 41-20 all-time record against John Brown. The Stars held onto a 69-65 win on Dec. 6, 2022 at Abe Lemons Arena in the last meeting. Brandon Jackson topped OCU with 20 points
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
• John Brown took a 97-76 loss to Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday in Siloam Springs, Ark. Wayland Baptist shot 57.6 percent from the field for the highest field-goal percentage against the Golden Eagles (10-15, 8-11 SAC) in 2022-23
• Lukas Gabani, a 6-7 freshman, had 14 points and eight rebounds. He averages 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds a contest
• John Brown puts up 31.1 3-point attempts per game to rank third nationally
• The Golden Eagles had the eighth spot in the preseason SAC poll
ABOUT THE COACHES
Mark Berokoff (second season with OCU, 30-26)
• 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
Jason Beschta (ninth season at JBU, 148-114)
• Led the Golden Eagles to a school-record 28-5 mark for the 2019-20 season. JBU was ranked No. 9 in the NAIA rankings entering the 2020 NAIA National Tournament
• In 2018-19, Beschta guided John Brown to its first 20-win season and NAIA Tournament appearance since 2013-14
• Prior to his arrival at JBU, Beschta led Oklahoma Wesleyan for three seasons, amassing a 62-36 record at OKWU. He led the Eagles to a round of 16 finish in the NAIA Division II Tournament in 2012-13, finishing that season 25-10
ON THE AIR
• John Brown 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
