Shawnee, Okla. -- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels notched their first-ever victory at the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament with a thrilling 87-85 victory over the Oklahoma City University Stars in the SAC quarterfinals Thursday afternoon (Mar. 6) at the OBU Noble Complex in Shawnee, Okla.
The Evangels are the fifth-seed in the tourney and will face the winner of Southwestern Assemblies of God University and Oklahoma Baptist University tomorrow evening (Mar. 7) at 6 p.m. in the SAC semifinals.
After Angelo Lewis split a pair at the free throw line to make it a two-point game, the Evangels forced a turnover in the final seconds to close out the victory.
Despite the tightness of the game, the Evangels grabbed the lead at the 3:55 mark of the first half and never trailed again.
A critical juncture in the game occurred when the Stars finally caught the Evangels at 64-64 on consecutive buckets by R.J. McGhee at the 9:06 mark of the second half.
That's the point the Evangels grabbed control when four straight points from Semar Farris ignited a 14-4 spurt and a score by Reggie Davis off a turnover pushed the lead to double-figures for the first time at 78-68 with 4:08 left.
MACU stayed in command until two free throws from McGhee cut the lead to one possession at 86-83 and following two misses at the line by the Evangels, Jamaal Crayton drove in for the quick two to make it a one-point game with eight seconds remaining.
The Evangels started strong defensively, holding the Stars scoreless for the first 4:14 while building an early 8-0 lead.
Following a 9-1 spurt by the Stars that put OCU in front, the Evangels answered back with threes by RichMarr Smith and Jarius Wilson that fueled a 12-4 run that made it 20-13.
The teams continued to exchange runs as OCU came back with a 14-4 run that was capped by threes from Terry Johnson and Terance Bonhomme to put the Stars ahead by four at 27-23.
Wilson then provided an answer for the Evangels with five straight points to put MACU on top by one at the 6:13 mark of the opening half.
The Evangels continued to gain separation the remainder of the half and went into the break with a 43-37 lead.
Wilson powered the Evangels (17-10) with a career-best 29 points, one more than his previous career-best of 28 back on Nov. 9. Wilson also equaled a career-high with five makes from the perimeter.
Farris scored 17 along with four assists and four steals, while Davis chipped in with 10 points. Stephen Armstrong scored eight and Lewis also scored eight along with a game-high eight rebounds.
McGhee led five Stars in double-figures with 21 points and also had eight boards and four steals. Johnson scored 14 and Crayton had 12 points and also recorded eight rebounds. Terrence Walker added 10 points.
The Evangels held a slim edge on the boards, 42-40 overall and the offensive rebounds were even at 13-13.
MACU is 2-2 against its possible opponents tomorrow night. The Evangels swept OBU but lost both meetings to No. 5-ranked SAGU.
