Oklahoma City, Okla. -- The Mid-America Christian Evangels put on quite a show for the raucous fans at the Gaulke Activity Center on Senior Night, but the huge second half rally came up just short in a 75-74 setback to the No. 15-ranked Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm Thursday night (Feb. 24). 

After a trey by Williams tied the score at 74-74 with 27 seconds left, Xavier Alexander drove the lane and drew a foul with just 5.3 seconds left and split a pair at the line to give the Crimson Storm a one-point lead. 

A last second heave from three-point range by Darius Gregory was off the mark as SNU held on for the victory. 

The Evangels had battled back from 20-point deficit early in the second half to take their first lead of the game on a three by Williams at 63-61 with 4:14 remaining. 

That set up a frantic final four minutes that featured three ties, three lead changes and neither team holding more than a three-point edge. 

A.J. Thomas put the Crimson Storm back in front with a three at the four minute mark that was answered with another trey by Williams that gave the Evangels a two-point lead again. 

John Shodipo helped keep the Evangels close by hitting four straight clutch free throws down the stretch that tied the score at 69-69 and then brought the Evangels to within a point at 72-71 with 1:04 left. 

After a three by Thomas gave the Crimson Storm their largest lead of the game at 45-25, the Evangels (13-14, 9-12 SAC) began their march back as a three by Cameron Langster capped a 12-0 run that cut the lead to single-digits with 16:04 left. 

The Evangels trailed by 10 when Langster converted a three-point play to spark a 9-0 run as Gregory scored inside to make it 55-54 at the 7:57 mark. 

MACU finally caught the Crimson Storm after a free throw by Gregory knotted the score at 61-61 with 4:37 left. 

SNU (22-7, 15-6 SAC) threatened to pull away early by scoring the first seven points of the game before consecutive buckets by Cameron Langster fueled a 10-3 run that tied the score. 

C.J. Henry was then fouled shooting a three and hit all three freebies to start an 18-2 run that gave the Crimson Storm a 28-12 lead. 

SNU went on to a 40-23 lead at the break. 

Williams led the Evangels with 14 points, while Lewis and Shodipo scored 12 each.  Langster chipped in with 10. 

Thomas led all scorers with 24 points, with Alexander scoring 17 and Henry adding 11. 

The Evangels were outrebounded 39-34 overall but held a 14-6 edge on the offensive glass and forced 29 turnovers on the night. 

MACU will now wrap up the regular season at USAO Saturday night (Feb. 26) at 8 p.m. in Chickasha, Okla.  The Evangels won the first matchup between the two schools 85-78 earlier this season in OKC. 

The Evangels currently sit one game behind Oklahoma City for the eighth and final spot in the SAC Tournament, but will advance with a win at USAO and an OCU loss at SNU Saturday due to holding the tiebreaker advantage.