3:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11
Hamilton Field House | Edmond, Okla.
THE MATCHUP
• Oklahoma City University looks to keep pace in the Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball race in a showdown with Panhandle State
• The Stars return to Hamilton Field House for the first time since playing in the Central Oklahoma Classic on Nov. 27-28, 2015. OCU came from behind to defeat Oklahoma Christian 83-70 on Nov. 28, 2015 after falling to Central Oklahoma 90-67 in the first day of the event
• Hamilton Field House was the site for the 1994 and 1995 SAC Tournament championship games. Oklahoma City captured the inaugural SAC Tournament championship 78-64 over Oklahoma Christian on March 4, 1994, then repeated as conference tournament champion with an 88-78 triumph over Oklahoma Christian on March 6, 1995 in Edmond, Okla.
• Fans will be allowed into the game free of charge
ABOUT THE STARS
• Wayland Baptist (Texas) prevailed over Oklahoma City 90-84 on Thursday in El Reno, Okla., in the SAC game of the week. The Stars (13-11, 11-7 SAC) drew to within three points with 37 seconds to go 84-81 on Brandon Jackson's trey, but Wayland Baptist answered with six made free throws
• Dravon Clayborn, a 6-foot-2 senior majoring in business administration from Evanston, Ill., accumulated 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Clayborn posted season highs in scoring, steals, field goals (9) and field-goal attempts (19). Clayborn turns in 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.76 steals per game this season
• Avery Jackson, a 6-3 freshman political science major from Frisco, Texas, posted 20 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Jackson provided OCU with his ninth 20-point performance while shooting 11-for-12 at the free-throw line. Jackson delivers 17.4 points and 5.2 rebounds a game along with a 47.6 percent field-goal percentage and 40.9 percent 3-point shooting clip this season
• OCU sinks 15.6 free throws per game to rank 16th among 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 has gone 21-7 against Panhandle State over the years. Panhandle State clipped the Stars on Fedja Cukle's free throw with 14 seconds showing. Kori Guest topped OCU with 25 points
ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Panhandle State came up short to John Brown (Ark.) 70-67 on Thursday in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Aggies (2-23, 1-18 SAC) took a 67-65 lead with 33 seconds left on Rayquan Elliott's free throw, but Payton Guiot responded with a 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining
• Elliott, a 6-4 senior, had 29 points while shooting 9-for-13 from the free-throw line. He averages 30.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, leading the NAIA in scoring
• The Aggies have averaged 17.4 foul shots per game to rank fifth nationally
• Panhandle State was projected to finish 11th in the SAC before the season
ABOUT THE COACHES
Mark Berokoff (second season with OCU, 29-26)
• 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
Mark Laird (fourth season with OPSU, 24-70)
• In 2021-22, Panhandle State (12-16) put together more victories than its two previous seasons combined (10)
• Laird came to Panhandle State in 2019 after serving as associate head coach at Southwestern Christian. Prior to his stint at SCU, Laird served as an associate head coach at Valley Forge (Pa.) and assistant coach at Texas A&M International
• Laird previously had been a head coach at Bethany (Calif.) in 2010-11
ON THE AIR
• Oklahoma City University athletics provides live and on-demand audio and video of its contests on OCU's BlueFrame platform. Cost to watch OCU athletics live is $4.99 per game, while there is a men's basketball season pass available for $44
• Andrew Himes announces the action. Himes enters his 12th season as the voice of the Stars and has been broadcasting OCU basketball for 15 years starting on color commentary as an OCU student
• OCU has partnered with BlueFrame Technology to create the OCU Sports Network. To watch live video, fans can find the Stars' BlueFrame platform over the web on the SAC Network along with streaming apps for mobile devices (iOS and Android) and televisions including Amazon Fire Tablet, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. The app can be found and installed by searching for the SAC Network
