Norman, Okla. -- The No. 10-ranked (NAIA D-I) Mid-America Christian University Evangels put together a strong showing in an exhibition matchup at the No. 8-ranked (NCAA D-I University of Oklahoma Sooners before falling 98-76 tonight (Nov. 12) at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Ryan Spangler started the game with a three-point play but Devonse Reed quickly answered with a trey to knot the game at 3-3 early on.
The Sooners then scored the next seven and led 16-5 before Malcom Mann hit a jumper followed by a layup by Reed that cut the deficit to 16-9 at the 13:48 mark of the opening half.
It was 20-9 when Nick Tate hit a fastbreak layup to again bring the Evangels within single-digits with 11:22 left in the half.
After the Sooners scored the next six points, Jerrick Massenburge connected from the perimeter to make it 26-14 at the 9:44 mark.
It was at that point the Sooners began to pull away as a three by Buddy Hield and two free throws from Spangler capped a 9-0 run that gave OU a 35-14 edge.
The Evangels fought back when five straight points from Reed and a driving layup by Devante Moore helped bring MACU within 50-34 at the break.
Tate came out strong in the second half with seven points in the first three minutes as the Evangels continued to hang around and pulled within 58-44 at the 16:53 mark.
Hield then hit consecutive threes to fuel a 10-2 spurt that stretched the lead to 68-46 with 14:45 remaining.
Reed wouldn't let the Evangels go quietly and nailed three treys during the next five-minute span to keep MACU within 82-62 at the 8:44 mark
The Evangels climbed ever closer when layups by Runnels and Reed followed by a pair of free throws by Moore trimmed the Sooner lead to 87-70 with 4:54 left.
MACU continued to hang around and clawed within 16 on a three by Moore and jumper from Ex'Zavia Seaton that made it 91-75 with 3:32 remaining.
That's as close as the Evangels could get though after a three by Bola Alade and jumper from Christian James put it away for the Sooners.
Reed finished with a game-high 30 points for the Evangels on 11-of-15 shooting overall and 6-of-8 from three-point range. Tate finished with 12 points and six rebounds and Seaton scored 11. Massenburge also scored in double-figures with 10 points along with six boards.
Hield led the Sooners with 23 points and Spangler had 19. Jamuni McNeace had a game-high seven boards and Isaiah Cousins dished out a game-high six assists for the Sooners.
The Evangels shot only 34.1 percent (14-of-41) in the first half but warmed up to a 42.4 percent (14-of-33) clip in the second half while shooting 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from three-point distance after only going 5-of-20 in the first half from the perimeter.
"The first half we couldn't have shot much worse but in the second half we came out much better," MACU head coach Josh Gamblin said. "Hopefully this will kick start our offense, we took a step forward and we got a back to back starting tomorrow so we got to keep it up."
The back to back for the Evangels starts tomorrow night (Nov. 13) at home against Bethany College (Kan.) at 7 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center. MACU will then turn around and host No. 20-ranked Philander Smith College Saturday evening (Nov. 14) at 5 p.m.
