Winona Lake, Ind. -- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels ended the 2012-13 season on a high note by rallying from 14 points down to defeat the Spring Arbor University Cougars 74-68 to take fifth place at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Tournament Friday evening (Mar. 15) at the Orthopaedic Center on the campus of Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind.
Immediately after the game, MACU senior guard Charlie Shorter was named the NCCAA Player of the Year and first-team NCCAA All-American. The award adds to the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year Shorter received earlier this year and an NCCAA Central Regional Co-MVP selection.
The Evangels came back in the second half to take charge and twice led by 10 points, with the last being on two free throws by Camilo Valencia that made it 67-57 with 2:52 remaining.
SAU wouldn't go quietly and scored six straight to come within 67-63 at the 1:12 mark. After Yuri Hager converted a three-point play to stretch the lead back to seven, the Cougars again fought back and made it a one-possession game as a three by Chris Bellamy cut the lead to 71-68 with 28 seconds left.
Angelo Lewis then split a pair at the line for the Evangels and following a three-point miss by Bellamy, Shorter nailed two freebies to put it away.
Things looked bleak for the Evangels when 23 points by Bellamy through the first 22 minutes of the game helped the Cougars to a 47-33 lead.
The Evangels then came alive by outscoring the Cougars 18-0 over the next seven minutes to lead 51-47 on a jumper by Valencia at the 7:57 mark of the second half.
Josh Young helped the Evangels get going with five points in the early stages of the run, including a three that extended the spurt to 9-0 and trimmed the deficit to 47-42.
Three points from Shorter and a layup by Lewis tied the score and a driving runner by Josh Minner gave the Evangels their first lead since the 13:23 point of the opening half.
The Evangels got off to a quick start as a three by Shorter and a driving layup by Lewis made it 11-5 almost five minutes into the contest.
SAU then took control of the first half with a 13-2 run for a seven-point lead of 21-14 with 9:20 left in the first half and went on to lead 39-33 at the break.
Playing in their final game of their MACU career, Shorter led the Evangels with 17 points and Valencia scored 15 with a game-high six assists. Lewis also scored 15 points and Minner added nine points along with a team-high eight rebounds.
Bellamy paced the Cougars with game-high totals of 32 points and 10 boards, while Matt Carden also reached double-figure scoring with 16 points.
The victory caps a truly historic season for the MACU basketball program. This 2012-13 campaign featured the Evangels achieving their first-ever NAIA Top 25 national ranking and their highest finish in the Sooner Athletic Conference, coming in tied for third with USAO with a 9-7 conference record. This was the Evangels' 22nd appearance in the NCCAA National Tournament after capturing their 20th NCCAA Central Regional championship.
In addition to his honors, Shorter became just the fifth player in MACU history to eclipse the 2,000 career point mark, finishing with 2,271 career points.
Valencia was also named to his second straight all-conference honorable-mention team and Lewis was named the SAC Newcomer of the Year along with a second-team all-conference selection.
