North OKC News

THE MATCHUP

• Oklahoma City University returns to action in the second semester of the men's basketball season against Sooner Athletic Conference foe Panhandle State
• The Stars own wins in three of their last four games. OCU had a hiatus of 25 days since its last game 

ABOUT THE STARS 

• OCU fell 86-80 to North Texas Dallas on Dec. 10 at Abe Lemons Arena in its last contest. The Stars (6-7, 2-3 SAC) surrendered 85 or more points for the second time this season 
• Avery Jackson, a 6-foot-3 freshman political science major from Frisco, Texas, hauled in 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. He knocked down a season-high nine free throws in 13 attempts at the line. Jackson owns 20-point performances in his last two outings. Jackson provides Oklahoma City with 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.31 steals per contest along with a 51.3 percent field-goal percentage and 45.7 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point line this season 
• Kori Guest, a 6-2 senior from Tulsa, Okla., studying criminal justice totaled 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Guest has turned in 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 2022-23 
• OCU rates 20th in the NAIA this season with 29.4 defensive rebounds a game 
• 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 leads the all-time series 21-6. Panhandle State edged OCU 105-102 on Feb. 7, 2022 in Goodwell, Okla., in the most recent meeting. Guest tallied 22 points and nailed 5 of 9 3-point shots 

ABOUT THE AGGIES 

• Wayland Baptist (Texas) took out Panhandle State 89-61 on Dec. 15 in Goodwell, Okla. The Aggies (1-12, 0-7 SAC) committed 23 turnovers, which Wayland Baptist converted into 24 points 
• Rayquan Elliott, a 6-4 senior, had 21 points while shooting 10-for-13 from the foul line. He has posted 20-point scoring outputs in the last seven games. Elliott tops the NAIA with 34.5 points per game to go with 4.9 rebounds a game and 51.0 percent shooting from the floor and 37.4 percent shooting from 3-point land this season 
• Conference coaches predicted Panhandle State for an 11th-place finish in the SAC before the season 

MEET THE COACHES 

Mark Berokoff (second season with OCU, 23-21) 

• 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, 23-59) 
• 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 

• Panhandle State will provide live video and statistics of the game

Original source can be found here