OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels held off a pesky Langston University Lions squad and improved to 4-1 on the season with an 89-79 victory Tuesday night (Dec. 3) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Lions made things interesting in the second half by out-scoring the Evangels 17-1 over a seven minute stretch to cut a 17-point lead down to just 73-72 with 5:38 remaining.
MACU responded with seven straight of their own, starting with two big free throws by Stephen Armstrong. Semar Farris then came through with a steal and layup before Reggie Davis drilled a three for an 80-72 lead at the 3:40 mark.
The Lions refused to go away as Landon Gray converted a three-point play to make it a five-point game before Angelo Lewis and Jarius Wilson each split two free throws to stretch the lead back to seven.
After a pair of free throws by Renard Green trimmed the lead to four, the Lions had a chance to make it a one possession game, but the Evangels created a turnover that led to a layup by Lewis that built the lead back to six with 59 seconds left.
Lewis and Davis then each nailed two at the charity stripe over the final 25 seconds to seal the victory.
The Evangels pulled out to an early lead in the first half with a 12-2 spurt that created a 26-11 edge at the 11:29 mark.
Langston clawed back into it on the strength of a 15-5 run before the Evangels expanded the lead back to double-digits with an 11-4 burst and went on to lead 53-42 at the break.
David led the Evangels with a career-high 19 points on 10-of-11 shooting at the charity stripe. MACU also got a career-best 14 points from Armstrong along with 11 from Farris. Josh Smith had a solid all-around game of eight points, a team-high nine rebounds and four assists.
Gray paced the Lions (0-6) with 19 points and game-highs of 10 boards and seven assists. Travis Scott also scored in double-figures with 16 points.
After shooting 55.9 percent (28-of-59) from the field in the first half, the Evangels cooled off to just 36 percent (9-of-25) in the second half for a clip of 47.5 percent (28-of-59) overall. The Lions shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) for the game, buoyed by a 46.7 percent (14-of-30) effort in the second.
The rebounds were even at 37-37 overall, with the Lions holding an 11-7 edge on the offensive glass.
The Evangels will now turn around and open Sooner Athletic Conference action tomorrow afternoon (Dec. 4) at conference newcomer Texas Wesleyan University. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in Fort Worth, Texas.
