Oklahoma City, Okla. - The Mid-America Christian Evangels led big, then were able to hang on for an important 74-68 victory over the No. 19-ranked Oklahoma City Stars in a Sooner Athletic Conference showdown Thursday night (Dec. 9) at the Gaulke Activity Center.
In the first meeting between the two schools this season, the Evangels led by 12 in the second half on the road at OCU, only to have the Stars rally for a 77-73 win.
For a moment, it appeared this could be d?j? vu for the Evangels as Nathan Pratt hit a layup for a 71-62 lead, only to have Johnny Stephene hit consecutive threes to suddenly cut the lead down to three with still 59 seconds left.
But this time, the Evangels got a crucial defensive stop and Pratt stepped to the line and made a free-throw and then iced the game with a jumper with five seconds left for the final six-point win.
The Evangels quickly extended a five-point lead at the half by out-scoring the Stars 10-2 over the first five minutes of the second half.
Four different Evangels made field goals during the spurt that put them up 43-30.
MACU kept OCU at bay through the majority of the second half, never leading by less than five until the final minute.
In the opening half, the Evangels (4-4, 2-2 SAC) led 18-17 when Darius Gregory scored five points to lead a 9-2 run that gave MACU a nine-point advantage with 5:55 left until halftime.
The Stars (9-2, 3-1 SAC) fought back with seven straight points to come within one, but the Evangels scored the final four of the first half to grab a five-point as Blake Larson scored off an alley-oop pass from Camilo Valencia as time expired for a 33-28 lead.
Pratt led the Evangels with 15 points, with Brandon Williams adding 11. John Shodipo pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds.
Nate Flowers led four Stars in double-figures with a game-high 16 points to go along with a game-high total of 14 boards.
The Evangels gave a solid effort overall on the boards, out-rebounding OCU 45-36 and 17-12 on the offensive glass.
MACU will now turn around and play at Haskell Indian Nations on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 11) at 2 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan.
