Oklahoma City, Okla. - Nathan Pratt and John Shodipo combined for 40 points to lead the Mid-America Christian Evangels to a 92-83 victory over the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup Saturday night (Jan. 8) at the Gaulke Activity Center. 

The Evangels held a nine-point lead at halftime and pulled out to a 14-point advantage on three occasions in the second half, with the last being 71-57 on a three by Cameron Langster with 10:01 remaining. 

Johnie Sanders helped the Rangers climb back into it with three consecutive buckets to cap a 12-4 spurt that cut the lead to 75-69 with 6:08 left.

Pratt then made a free throw and hit a jumper sandwiched around a score from Brandon Williams that made it an 11-point advantage at the 4:05 mark. 

The Evangels (8-6, 4-4 SAC) from that point kept their distance and maintained at least a nine-point lead the rest of the way, buoyed by six made free-throws by Camilo Valencia and a pair of big field goals from Langster down the stretch. 

The Rangers (11-5, 5-3 SAC) began the game hot from the perimeter and made five threes in the first seven minutes to build a 19-10 lead at the 13:02 mark of the first half. 

MACU trailed 21-12 when it exploded for a 19-3 run to take a seven-point lead. 

Valencia started the outburst with a three that was followed by back-to-back buckets from Nosa Amadasun. 

Shodipo then tied the score with a thunderous dunk off a turnover with 9:53 left in the opening half. 

After Eze Akwari hit a free-throw to give the Rangers a brief one-point lead, Pratt scored twice and Donell Lewis drained a jumper for a three-point lead. 

Baskets by Van Craven and Shodipo capped the spurt that put the Evangels up 31-24 with 5:41 remaining in the first half. 

A trey by Orren Tims and a free-throw from Brandon Harris helped the Rangers cut the lead to 38-35 with two minutes left in the half. 

But two more buckets by Pratt helped the Evangels close out the half on an 8-2 run for a 46-37 lead at the break. 

Pratt scored a team-high 22 points of 10-of-18 shooting from the field. Shodipo added 18 points and six rebounds. Williams and Langster each chipped in with 12. Williams, Lewis and Valencia had four assists apiece. 

Williams also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. 

Tims had a game-high 23 for the Rangers, while Harris added 12 and Sanders chipped in with 11. 

The Evangels out-rebounded the Rangers 40-33 overall and held an 18-9 edge on the offensive glass.

MACU also forced 24 turnovers on the night. 

Next up for the Evangels is a home matchup with USAO on Thursday night (Jan. 13). Tip-off will be 8 p.m. at the Gaulke Activity Center.