Oklahoma City, Okla. -- The Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles used a huge first-half spurt to get back into the game and then went on to slip by the Mid-America Christian Evangels 81-79 in non-conference action Tuesday night (Nov. 9) at the Gaulke Activity Center.

The Evangels (1-1) came out of the gates blazing as Brandon Williams scored10 points over the first six minutes of the contest to help MACU build an early 16-5 advantage.

Williams kept it rolling by nailing a pair of threes as the Evangels continued to expand the lead to 32-17 at the 7:26 mark of the first half.

That's when the Eagles (5-0) began their march back as Sadiel Rojas and Dominique Rambo combined for all 18 points of an 18-4 spurt over the next five minutes to cut the lead to 36-35 with 2:10 remaining in the first half.

A layup by Bradley Cosby and a free throw from Donell Lewis extended the lead back to four and the Evangels went on to a 39-37 lead at the half.

Murray Shaw opened the second half with a trey that gave the Eagles a one-point lead, their first advantage since the opening minute of the game.

The Eagles went on to outscore the Evangels 10-1 to open the second half for a 47-40 cushion.

MACU fought back with a 8-3 run to close the deficit to 50-48 with 15:05 left.

The Evangels trailed 66-62 when Rojas scored the Eagles' next nine points that gave them their biggest lead of the night at 75-67 with just 4:36 remaining.

The closest the Evangels got from that point was the final two-point margin as Darius Gregory hit a layup in the final seconds of the contest.

Williams led the Evangels with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point distance. Williams also hit all five of his free-throw attempts.

Gregory chipped in with 12 points and tied George Haynes with a team-high eight rebounds. John Shodipo scored 11 and Bradley Cosby added 10.

Rojas paced the Eagles with game-highs of 37 points and 10 rebounds, while Rambo scored 21.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Evangels 49-45 overall, with a 20-13 edge on the offensive glass.

MACU shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field overall, while the Eagles rebounded to shoot 38 percent (27-of-71) after only hitting on 28.9 percent (11-of-38) of their shots in the first half.

The Evangels will next play at Southwestern (Kan.) College on Thursday night (Nov. 11). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Winfield, Kan.