OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Stars men's basketball team looks to keep its SAC tournament hopes alive on Thursday night as the Stars take on Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, Texas at 7:45 PM.  

Game Information         

• Oklahoma City Stars (8-16, 6-12 SAC)        
  • Previous Game: vs UNT-Dallas (W, 73-60) 
• Texas Wesleyan (10-14, 8-10 SAC) 
  • Previous Game: vs Oklahoma Panhandle State (W, 70-58)
• Date & Time: Thursday, Feb. 15 | 7:45 PM  
• Location: Fort Worth, Texas  
• Live Coverage: TV | Live Stats 

Key Players        

• Oklahoma City         
  • Sr – Brandon Jackson – 16.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 39.8 FG%, 85.5 FT%  
  • So – Avery Jackson – 16.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 82.4 FT%  
  • Fr – Yorgio Golesis – 10.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 39.0 FG% 

• Texas Wesleyan   
  • Jr - Adetokunbo Bakare - 17.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 44.4 FG%, 84.0 FT%
  • Sr - Kris Lafayette - 12.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 45.9 FG%
  • Jr - Isaiah Marin - 9.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 45.1 FG%

About the Stars        

• Oklahoma City has hit its stride as of late winning its last three games including taking down the second-best team in the conference and receiving votes in the NAIA poll SAGU in overtime on Thursday.  
• The Stars enter with an 8-16 overall record while going 6-12 in SAC play, currently sitting in ninth place in the SAC poll.   
• OCU is led by the duo of Avery Jackson and Brandon Jackson both scoring above 16 points per game. Senior Brandon Jackson comes off five consecutive double-digit scoring games including a 22-point outing against the Trailblazers on Saturday.  
• Avery Jackson comes off the best week of the season earning SAC player of the week honors after scoring 26 points against SAGU while sinking a season-high six threes before dropping his first double-double of the season on Saturday with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the 73-60 win over UNT-Dallas.  
•  Freshman Yorgio Golesis rounds out the double-digit scorers for the Stars with 10.6 PPG and sees his assist numbers beginning to creep up averaging 3.1 APG after dishing out a season-high eight dimes against SAGU last Thursday.  
• Freshman Clayton Jewell played a major role in the upset over SAGU by notching career-highs in points with 19 and in rebounds with 13.  
• OCU needs a win to keep their postseason hopes alive as the Stars are two games back of Texas Wesleyan and Central Christian for the 8th spot.  

About the Rams 

• Texas Wesleyan comes in to Thursday's game with a 10-14 record and an 8-10 record in conference play.
• The Rams come off a win against Oklahoma Panhandle State but have yet to win back-to-back games since its four game winning streak towards the end of January.
• Adetokunbo Bakare leads the way in points with 17.2 PPG, 6th best in the conference. Bakare comes off a 20 point game against the Aggies where the junior has scored 20 plus points in three of the last four games and scored a season-high 34 against SAGU back on Jan. 27.
• Kris Layfette leads the Rams in rebounding with 8.3 per game as the 6'10 senior has reached up to six double-doubles on the season.

Previous Meeting   

• The previous meeting favored the Rams 79-71 after Texas Wesleyan scored 46 points in the first half as two Rams scored 20 points apiece while shooting 10-for-22 from deep and 13-of-15 from the line. 
• OCU was paced by freshman Yorgio Golesis with a team-high 19 points as a total of four Stars reached double-figures. OCU shot a clean 17-for-20 from the charity stripe but struggled from range shooting just 4-for-15 from three. 

Series History         

• The last four meetings have seen a different winner in each game as neither team has been able to win two in a row since the 2022 season. Oklahoma City holds a slight edge over Texas Wesleyan in the all-time series dating back to 2009 holding a 12-10 record over the Rams. 

What's Next        

• Oklahoma City remains inside Abe Lemons Arena on Saturday as the Stars take on UNT-Dallas in a pivotal Sooner Athletic Conference competition.