OKLAHOMA CITY -- Senior guard Semar Farris drained a clutch jumper just inside the free throw line with 1.3 seconds left to snap an 81-81 gridlock and give the Mid-America Christian University Evangels their fifth straight victory, 83-81 in a gut-wrenching Sooner Athletic Conference battle tonight (Jan. 22) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
Just five days after giving head coach Willie Holley his milestone 800th victory, it appeared win #801 would come comfortably as the Evangels built a 22-point lead midway through the first half and cruised into the break with a 59-32 edge.
But the Rams had other ideas as they came roaring out in the second half and shaved the deficit to 13 at 67-54 with still 12:34 remaining.
After a three by Brock Hunter answered and seemingly stablized the lead back to 16, the Rams exploded when Merv Lindsay and Sam Akano combined for 16 points of a 24-5 run that Akano put the finishing touches on with a three that brought TWU completely back to lead 78-75 at the 4:38 mark.
The Evangels then regrouped with six straight points and regained the lead on a trey by Wilson that put MACU on top 81-78 with 1:03 left.
A free throw by Akano and then two free throws from Lindsay would then tie the score with eight seconds left that set up Farris' heroics.
The first half was all Evangels as MACU took complete control by out-scoring the Rams 23-2 over a four-minute stretch for a 34-12 bulge.
Following an 8-0 run by the Rams that trimmed the lead to 17, the Evangels finished the final 4:39 of the half on an 18-8 run to lead by 27 at the break.
Hunter led the Evangels (13-6, 6-1 SAC) with a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting overall and 4-of-5 from three point distance. Farris scored 16 points, while Jason Nwisienyi had career-highs of 14 points and eight rebounds. Reggie Davis added 11 points and Josh Smith also had eight boards.
Akano paced the Rams (13-5, 2-5 SAC) with 22 points, followed by Lindsay's 21 points. Jerrell Ellis wound up with 19 points for TWU.
The numbers beared out the contrast in the two halves, as the Evangels shot 45.7 percent (16-of-35) in the first half before cooling all the way down to 32.3 percent (10-of-31) in the second. Meanwhile. the Rams mustered only a 34.4 percent (11-of-32) clip in the opening half, but warmed up to shoot 48.5 percent (16-of-33) in the second stanza.
The Evangels will get back at it Saturday evening (Jan. 24) at home against No. 8-ranked Oklahoma Baptist University at 5 p.m.
