OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Mid-America Christian University Evangels controlled the game throughout and hung on for a 74-67 victory over the John Brown University Golden Eagles to snap their four-game losing skid tonight (Jan. 8) in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
MACU head coach Willie Holley now stands at 797 career victories, just three way from the milestone 800th win.
The Evangels (9-6, 2-1 SAC) seized control in the first half as Jason Nwisienyi scored three straight buckets to cap a 9-0 spurt that turned a 2-point lead into a 21-10 bulge at the 10:35 mark.
MACU stretched the lead as high as 15 on two occasions in the opening half before the Golden Eagles (10-5, 2-1 SAC) scored seven straight to get back into it at 27-19.
The Evangels responded and took a 35-23 lead at the break.
After a pair of threes by DJ Feitl helped JBU claw within eight early in the second half, Jerrick Massenburge caught fire and nailed three straight treys to spark a 14-3 push that built the lead to 51-32 with 13:36 remaining.
The Evangels led by as much as 21 but the Golden Eagles methodically crawled back as threes from Max Hopfgartner and Griffin Brady capped an 11-2 run that cut the lead to 69-60 with 1:10 left.
But Reggie Davis and Semar Farris each hit two free throws to bring the lead back to 13 with 40 seconds left and that proved to be enough to withstand a 7-0 JBU spurt over the next 20 seconds.
Massenburge led four Evangels in double-figures with 13 points, all coming in the second half. Farris and Hunter each scored 12 and Nwisienyi added a career-high 10 points in the winning effort. Hunter had seven rebounds, while Davis also pulled down seven boards and led the Evangels with five assists.
Feitl and Hopfgartner each scored 21 points to pace the Golden Eagles, while Feitl and Brady each had a game-high eight boards. Samson Olayemi recorded a game-high 10 assists for JBU.
The Evangels will next be at Oklahoma City University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 10) at 5 p.m. at Abe Lemons Arena.
