The Lowdown: Mid-America Christian University at Oklahoma City University.
Time: 8 p.m. Location: Abe Lemons Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video, Audio, Stats:
http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/okcu.portal#
What's at stake: The Evangels would go to 4-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference and jump into third place in the league with a victory, while the OCU Stars are looking to end a four-game losing skid that has dropped them to 1-5 in the SAC.
The Dish on the Evangels: The Mid-America Christian University Evangels are coming off a 76-58 loss at No. 4-ranked John Brown University last Saturday (Jan. 19). The Evangels were tied 31-31 early in the second half when the Golden Eagles nailed six threes to rip off a 24-2 run to put the game away. The Evangels are 8-6 overall and 3-2 in the SAC.
Shorter leads the Evangels and is second in the SAC in scoring with 21.3 ppg. Angelo Lewis is second in scoring at 14.5 ppg and his team-leading 7.1 rebounds a game rank fourth in the conference. Valencia has dished out a team-high 50 assists on the season.
The Dish on the Stars: The Oklahoma City University Stars are in the midst of a four-game losing streak after beginning the year 8-2 and climbing into the NAIA Top 25. The four-game skid includes consecutive home losses against nationally ranked Rogers State University and Oklahoma Baptist University, along with road setbacks at Lubbock Christian University and Wayland Baptist University.
Terry Johnson paces the Stars offensively with 15.9 ppg, followed by Troynell Adams at 13.8 ppg. Charlton Jones leads OCU with 5.1 rebounds along with a SAC-leading 6.6 assists per game.
The Coaches:
Willie Holley is in his 40th season as head coach at Mid-America Christian University and his 758 career victories rank first in school history and second all-time in the NAIA.
Holley has helped the Evangels become competitive in a short period of time in the SAC, as for the second straight year, Holley kept the Evangels in the hunt for a Sooner Athletic Conference postseason tournament berth until the final day of the season. MACU more than doubled its win total over its first two seasons with 13 conference victories in the 2009-10 season and achieved a landmark victory at defending NAIA National Champion Oklahoma Baptist during the 2010-11 season.
Dionne Phelps enters his second season as head coach at Oklahoma City University after spending five seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma. During his time at OU, Phelps helped the Sooners to a 96-69 record, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2009 that featured eventual No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Blake Griffin.
