Shawnee, Okla. -- The Mid-America Christian Evangels came through with their biggest victory since joining the NAIA and Sooner Athletic Conference by defeating the reigning NAIA national champions and No. 9-ranked Oklahoma Baptist Bison Thursday night (Feb. 17) in Shawnee, Okla.
The loss is only the Bison's second at home overall this season and first in conference play.
MACU never trailed and built the lead as high as 21 after
Nathan Pratt and
Brandon Williams each hit threes in an 8-0 spurt to open the second half for a 49-28 lead.
The Evangels did a good job of fending off the Bison as baskets by
George Haynes and
Cameron Langster kept it a 20-point lead with 14:23 remaining.
A pair of free throws by
Bradley Cosby made it 59-41 when the Bison showed why they're the defending champs as Kevin Swinton converted a three-point play to start a 12-0 run that cut the lead to six at the 9:20 mark of the second half.
The Bison got as close as four when Pratt stepped up and nailed a huge three and
Darius Gregory made two big buckets to help the Evangels pull back out to a 71-60 advantage with 5:05 remaining.
After OBU again fought their way back to within four with 24 seconds left,
Camilo Valencia and Pratt each hit a pair of clutch free throws as the Evangels closed out the huge victory.
George Haynes and Pratt each scored early to make it 4-0 and a trey by Williams grew the lead to 17-8.
The Bison (20-6, 14-4 SAC) twice rallied to within three in the first half, but two free throws by Langster and a three by
John Shodipo fueled a 13-4 spurt that stretched the lead to 37-25 with 4:04 left.
A bucket by
Nosa Amadasun gave MACU a 41-28 cushion heading into the locker room.
Pratt led the Evangels (12-13, 8-11 SAC) with 22 points and tied for the team-lead with six rebounds. Shodipo added 17 and also pulled down six boards. Williams scored 14 points and
Donell Lewis dished out a game-high five assists.
Swinton caught fire in the second half and finished with 28 points and eight rebounds. Tim Bowman scored 16 and Maurice Foster had 13 points and a game-high 17 boards.
The Evangels shot a solid 50.8 percent (30-of-59) overall from the floor, while holding the Bison to a 43.1 percent (25-of-58) shooting clip.
Next up the Evangels will try to continue their winning ways in Shawnee, Okla. with a matchup at St. Gregory's on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 19) at 5 p.m. The Evangels defeated SGU 92-75 in the first matchup this season in OKC.
