Oklahoma City, Okla. - Kevin Swinton scored 18 points and had nine rebounds in the first half to put the No. 11-ranked Oklahoma Baptist Bison on their way to a 94-78 win over the Mid-America Christian Evangels in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup Saturday night (Jan. 22) at the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Bison led by 15 at the half and kept the Evangels at arms length by shooting a blazing 80 percent (20-of-25) in the second half.
It was a 17-point deficit when the Evangels made a push with a 10-2 run that was capped with a three by Brandon Williams that made it 57-48 with 15:07 remaining.
OBU (15-4, 9-2 SAC) quickly extended the lead back to 17 with a 10-2 spurt of their own on the strength of a trey and a three-point play by Tim Bowman.
The Evangels trailed 78-64 when consecutive threes by Heath McKay gave the Bison their largest lead of the game at 20 with 6:44 left.
MACU got no closer than 14 from that point.
The Evangels hung tough early as baskets by Donell Lewis and George Haynes tied the score at 8-8 and then a score by Blake Larson brought the Evangels to within 14-13 at the 13:34 mark of the opening half.
That's where Swinton began to take over by scoring eight points to spark a 21-4 run for a 35-17 lead with 7:01 left in the opening half.
The Bison led by as many as 19 in the half before the Evangels (10-8, 6-6 SAC) closed out with an 8-4 run as a shot by Williams made it a 44-29 game at the break.
Williams led four Evangels in double-figures with 17 points and John Shodipo added 14 and a team-high four rebounds. Haynes and Nathan Pratt tallied 10 each. Lewis and Camilo Valencia each dished out a game-high seven assists, with Valencia also recording a game-high six steals.
Swinton wound up with game-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds, along with a team-high six assists to lead the Bison.
To counter the Bison's hot-shooting second half, the Evangels shot 60 percent (21-of-35) from the field and 50.8 percent (32-of-63) overall.
OBU was 34-of-52 overall from the floor for a 65.4 percent shooting clip for the game.
The Evangels were out-rebounded 34-28 but forced 32 turnovers.
Next up for the Evangels is a pair of games in the Lone Star State, beginning with a tilt at Wayland Baptist on Thursday night (Jan. 27). Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Plainview, Texas.
