Shawnee, Okla. -- The No. 10-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels pulled out a hard-fought 101-96 victory over the Baker University Wildcats today (Nov. 28) in the final day of the SGU Thanksgiving Classic on the campus of St. Gregory's University in Shawnee, Okla.
The win is the Evangels' sixth straight and pushes them to 8-1 overall heading into Sooner Athletic Conference action next Saturday evening (Dec. 5) at Texas Wesleyan University in Ft. Worth, Texas.
The Evangels led by 12 with 8:41 left when 10 points from Daniel Young keyed a 19-6 burst over the next six minutes to suddenly put Baker in front 86-85 with 2:44 remaining.
Chris Runnels then answered with a score inside to put the Evangels back in the lead that was followed by a three from Bryon Miller to make it a four-point game at the 1:51 mark.
After Young hit two free throws to bring the Wildcats within two, Jerrick Massenburge came through in a critical sequence with a three and then a steal that led to two free throws by Runnels that stretched the lead to three possessions at 95-88 with 41 seconds left.
The Wildcats wouldn't go quietly and hit two from the perimeter before Javeion Gray scored to make it 99-96 with 11 seconds left.
But Ex'Zavia Seaton hit two free throws to close out the victory and finish a six-of-six effort overall from the charity stripe for the Evangels during the final 34 seconds.
The Evangels trailed early 8-2 but quickly rebounded by outscoring the Wildcats 14-2 over the next three minutes to grab a six-point lead.
Miller nailed two threes and the Evangels also got four points each from Nick Tate and Runnels to fuel the surge.
MACU held the lead for the remainder of the half and went up by double-digits on two free throws by Massenburge to lead 53-43 at the break.
After the Evangels stretched the lead to 15 at the 17:24 mark of the second half, the Wildcats rallied back behind 10 points from Gray that keyed a 17-5 run which brought Baker within 66-63.
The Wildcats crept within one before the Evangels used a combined nine points from Massenburge and Seaton to run off 11 straight points to gain some breathing room at 79-67.
Tate equaled his career-high by leading all scorers with 25 points for the Evangels. Massenburge scored 18 and Runnels posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Miller also scored 15 points and Devonse Reed added 10, while Malcolm Mann dished out a team-best 10 assists.
Young paced the Wildcats with 22 points, followed closely by Gray's 21. Manuel Barnes scored 13 points and Taylor Johnson had 10.
Baker held a narrow 28-26 edge in points in the paint, but the Evangels outscored the Wildcats 17-10 in second chance points and recorded a 26-18 advantage in points off turnovers.
Tip-off for the Evangels at Texas Wesleyan in their SAC opener next Saturday is set for 5 p.m.
