Oklahoma City, Okla. -- Nick Fox scored a game-high 26 points to lead the top-seeded Dallas Baptist Patriots to an 81-73 win over the No. 2-seed Mid-America Christian Evangels in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Regional championship game Saturday afternoon (Mar. 12) at the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Evangels were bidding for their second straight winning regional title after winning it last year.
The Patriots built the lead as high as 16 in the first half but
Darius Gregory got the Evangels back in it with three straight scores inside to make it a nine-point game.
DBU settled for a 37-27 lead at the break.
MACU came out strong in the second half with an 8-2 spurt that closed the deficit to just four, the closest it had been since early in the first half.
Jordan McGowen answered for DBU with five straight points to push the lead back to nine.
It was an eight-point deficit for the Evangels when
Van Craven nailed a three and
Bradley Cosby scored off a turnover that made it 47-44 with 14:08 remaining.
The Patriots again extended the lead back to 14 on a three by Braxton Adamson, but the Evangels again responded as a three by Nathan Pratt capped a 12-2 spurt brought MACU to within 66-62 at the 4:56 mark.
It was 68-64 when the Patriots got to the line and made six straight free throws, with the last two by Fox to again stretch the lead back to double-figures at 74-64 with 3:10 left.
A trey by
Brandon Williams got the Evangels within five with 1:19 left, but McGowen and Fox each converted two freebies at the line to put the game away.
Gregory led the Evangels with 14 points and
George Haynes scored 11 and had a game-high nine rebounds. Pratt also scored 11 and
Donell Lewis added 10 and a game-high six assists.
Fox's 26 points came on 11-of-20 from the field and he also had a team-high seven boards. Adamson scored 18 and hit 4-of-7 from three-point range. McGowen added 14 and Armie Lewis tallied 10.
The Evangels held a 43-30 advantage in rebounds and a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass.
