The Lowdown: No. 20 Philander Smith College @ No. 10 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Nov. 14 @ 5 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Evangels: The No. 10-ranked and defending Sooner Athletic Conference regular season champion Mid-America Christian University Evangels are now 4-1 this season following a 90-77 victory over the Bethany College (Kan.) Swedes last night (Nov. 13).
The Evangels came out firing on all cylinders in the second half and outscored the Swedes 17-5 out of the gate behind six points each from Reed and Tate that extended a two-point lead to 57-43. MACU continued to pull away as consecutive scores from Chris Runnels increased the edge to 63-47 at the 12:10 mark of the second half. The game was never in doubt from that point and later a putback by Bryon Miller gave the Evangels their biggest lead of the night at 86-68 with 4:03 left.
Nick Tate led the Evangels with 21 points and Devonse Reed scored 18. Chris Runnels scored 13 along with a team-high seven rebounds and Jerrick Massenburge added 10 points.
Reed is the Evangels' leading scorer through three games at 18.8 ppg, while Tate is second in scoring with 17.6 ppg and has a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. Massenburge is third on the team in scoring with 13.2 ppg and has nailed a team-best 12 threes on the season. The Evangels are also getting 10.6 ppg from Runnels and Malcolm Mann has dished out a team-high 27 assists thus far for the Evangels.
As a team, the Evangels are sixth in the NAIA in steals (56), eighth in threes (48), ninth in blocks (22) and 10th in total assists (90).
Individually, Mann's 27 assists are fifth in the NAIA and Runnels also ranks fifth with 11 blocks. Mann is seventh in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio (6.75) and 10th in steals (12).
The Dish on the Panthers: The Philander Smith College Panthers enter tonight's contest with a 1-2 record and are coming off a 61-60 loss at Lyon College on Tuesday (Nov. 10). The Panthers were 20-10 last season and advanced to the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
The Series: Tonight's matchup is the first between the two schools since MACU joined the NAIA in 2007.
Strong Showing on a National Stage: The Evangels put together an impressive performance at the No. 8-ranked (NCAA D-I) University of Oklahoma Sooners before falling 98-76 Thursday night (Nov. 12) in an exhibition game at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Devonse Reed produced a game-high 30 points for the Evangels on 11-of-15 shooting overall and 6-of-8 from three-point range. Nick Tate finished with 12 points and six rebounds and Ex'Zavia Seaton scored 11. Jerrick Massenburge also scored in double-figures with 10 points along with six boards.
High Expectations: Fresh off of capturing their first Sooner Athletic Conference regular season championship and advancing to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament, the Evangels were picked to finish tied for second in the preseason SAC Coaches' poll. MACU was tied for the second spot with Wayland Baptist University. It represents the highest the Evangels have been tabbed in the poll since becoming an NAIA and SAC member in 2007.
The Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions received seven of nine first-place votes to take the top spot. The Lions are coming off a 22-11 record last season with an NAIA National Championship tournament appearance.
John Brown University and Texas Wesleyan University round out the top five, with the remainder of the poll being Oklahoma City University, USAO, Southwestern Christian University, St. Gregory's University and Bacone College.
The Coaches:
Josh Gamblin is in his first season as the head coach of the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball program and has the Evangels off to a 4-1 start. Gamblin replaces Willie Holley, who retired after 42 years and 813 career victories at the helm.
Gamblin comes to MACU from the University of Oklahoma, where he was a Graduate Assistant Coach under Head Coach Lon Kruger. There he assisted in all practices and logged scout games. Gamblin also worked with coaches on opponent scouting reports for a squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season.
"We really appreciate all of Josh's assistance during his time with the Sooners and I know he'll do a fantastic job," Kruger said. "MACU is lucky to have him."
Prior to arriving at OU, Gamblin served two-years at Southwestern Christian University (SCU) as lead Assistant Coach on Head Coach Quinn Wooldridge's staff. Gamblin's duties at SCU involved recruiting, leading film sessions and analyzing opponent's scouting reports.
During the 2011-12 basketball season, Gamblin worked in the NBA as the Intern Video Coordinator for the Los Angeles Clippers under then-Head Coach Vinny Del Negro. Gamblin helped prepare pre-game scouting reports for the Clippers, as well as logging all opponent games and being involved in coaches meetings. His efforts with the Clippers led to the best winning percentage in team history.
"Josh has worked at the highest level and continually strives to learn and become a better coach each day," Del Negro said. "He is constantly working to improve his craft and striving for excellence is everything he does."
Off the court, Gamblin has served as Clippers' All-Star Forward Blake Griffin's Summer Basketball Trainer for the past three seasons. Gamblin helped Griffin prepare for upcoming basketball seasons by working on a number of offensive and defensive drills—specifically pick and roll coverages, low post moves and ball handling drills.
Gamblin's collegiate-athlete experience includes, but not limited to: competed at SCU on the Men's Basketball team from 2007-11; Varsity Captain (twice); named SCU Male Newcomer of the Year in 2008; and selected as Team MVP for the 2011 season. Additional honors include: Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) Honorable-Mention All-America honors in 2010; a Midlands Collegiate Athletic All-Conference selection in 2011; and named "Mr. Southwestern" in 2011, (awarded to the student who exemplifies the values, traditions and spirit of SCU). After the 2011 season, Gamblin received the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete award.
He graduated from SCU in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and is currently enrolled in the IAA Master's program at the University of Oklahoma.
Gamblin and his wife Jennifer live in Oklahoma City with their infant son Miles.
Sam Weaver is in his fifth season as head coach of Philander Smith College and has an overall record of 75-45. He guided the Panthers to the NAIA Division I National Championship Tournament for the third time last season.
Up Next: The Evangels will play at Langston University on Tuesday night (Nov. 17) at 7 p.m. in Langston, Okla. MACU defeated Langston at home 79-73 earlier this week (Nov. 10).
