Bartlesville, Okla. -- A furious second half rally fell just short as the Mid-America Christian Evangels fell 80-77 at the hands of the undefeated Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles Tuesday night (Nov. 16) in Bartlesville, Okla.
It was the second close call in seven days between the two schools, as the Eagles have now defeated the Evangels twice this season by a combined five points after winning 81-79 last Tuesday night (Nov. 9) at the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Eagles jumped on the Evangels early behind 18 first-half points from Rojas.
Rojas got going early with seven quick points as the Eagles opened a 14-5 lead four minutes into the contest.
MACU trailed 18-10 when Robbie Samuel and Phillip Jahn hit consecutive threes that stretched the Eagle lead to 24-10.
The Eagles went on to a 44-29 lead at the break but the Evangels got things going as Donell Lewis scored six points to spark a 15-2 run to open the second half that cut the lead to 46-44 with 15:02 remaining.
The deficit was still two at 48-46 when Rojas split a pair of free throws and then converted a three-point play that put the Eagles back up by six.
With the Eagles leading 54-48, the two squads exchanged treys as Nathan Pratt connected on one end for the Evangels, only to have Dominique Rambo match it for the Eagles on the other end that once again made it a six-point game.
When a three by Rojas extended the lead to seven, the Evangels went on a 7-0 spurt that was capped by a three from Brandon Williams that brought MACU all the way back to a 60-60 tie at the 7:42 mark of the second half.
The score remained tied at 64-64 when Murray Shaw converted an offensive rebound into a bucket that was shortly followed by a trey from Rambo that suddenly gave the Eagles a five-point lead with 4:36 left.
Williams wouldn't let the Evangels go away quietly as he nailed another three that trimmed the lead to two, but the Eagles made three free throws and Rambo converted a three-point play that made it 75-67 with just 1:31 remaining.
The Evangels got as close as three after Williams scored, drew a foul and made a free-throw that closed the gap to 78-75 with 20 seconds left.
After the Eagles missed both free throws on the other end, the Evangels had a chance but a potentially-tying three was off the mark with 11 seconds remaining.
Williams scored 15 of his team-leading 21 points in the second half to pace the Evangels (2-2).
Pratt added 16 and Shodipo also reached double-figures with 10 points. Lewis (6) and Camilo Valencia (5) combined for 11 assists on the night. George Haynes grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Rojas recorded game-highs of 30 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Eagles' attack. Murray scored 20 and Rambo chipped in with 16 for the Eagles (7-0).
The Evangels out-shot the Eagles 45.6 percent (31-of-68) to 40.3 percent (29-of-72) overall after clamping down defensively in the second half to limit the Eagles to only 30.6 percent (11-of-36) from the floor.
But the Eagles held a 43-35 edge in rebounds, including an 18-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Evangels will next play a pair of exhibition games against NCAA Division II opponents at the Southwestern Oklahoma State Classic this weekend (Nov. 19-20) in Weatherford, Okla.
MACU will face tournament host Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday night (Nov. 19) at 7:30 p.m., then match up with Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 20) at 3 p.m.
