The Lowdown: St. Gregory's University @ No. 14 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Saturday (Feb. 7) at 3 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
1,000 Times as Nice: Senior guard Semar Farris passed the 1,000 point mark for his career this season, becoming only the third Evangel to reach the mark since joining the NAIA. Farris currently has 1,031 career points. Senior guard Reggie Davis is also closing in on the milestone with 971 career points.
Rarefied Air: MACU head coach Willie Holley became only the 18th head coach and only the second active NAIA coach (Dr. Dave Holmquist, Biola University) to reach the 800 win plateau by winning 86-52 at Southwestern Christian University (1/17/15). The milestone win also puts Holley in elite company such as Mike Krzyzewski, Bobby Knight, Jim Boeheim, Dean Smith, Jim Calhoun, Adolph Rupp and Eddie Sutton. The second winningest coach in NAIA history, Holley currently stands at 803 career wins.
The Dish on the Evangels: The No. 14-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels dropped their second straight in heartbreaking fashion last night, 72-67 to the Oklahoma City University Stars. The Evangels rallied back from 12 down in the second half to take a one-point lead with 57 seconds left, but a driving layup by R.J. McGhee and six free throws from Gary Inglett in the final 12 seconds sealed the win for the Stars.
Semar Farris leads the Evangels in scoring (17.0 ppg), assists (125), steals (50) and threes (49). Farris is currently second in the SAC in both assists per game (5.4 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). Reggie Davis is second in scoring with 13.5 ppg and has a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game. Jarius Wilson (10.5 ppg) and Jerrick Massenburge (10.5 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures, while Chris Runnels has swatted a team-best 33 shots on the season, which ranks second in the SAC.
The Dish on the Cavaliers: The St. Gregory's University Cavaliers have won three of their last four to move into a four-way tie for second-place in the SAC with a 7-4 league record and a 11-8 overall mark. The Cavaliers are coming off an 86-81 win at No. 17-ranked Oklahoma Baptist University last night (Feb. 5).
Marty Wilkerson is pacing the Cavaliers in both scoring (22.1 ppg) and assists (69), while T.J. Thornton is second in scoring with 11.5 ppg. Jason Vierra is scoring 10.1 ppg with a team-high 7.1 rpg.
The Series: The Evangels have had their way with the Cavaliers since joining the NAIA in 2007. MACU has won 12 of the 15 meetings with SGU, but the Cavaliers have won the last two meetings, including 79-75 in the matchup this season in Shawnee (12/6/14.
The Coaches:
Willie Holley is in his 42nd and final season as head coach at Mid-America Christian University and became just the 18th coach in college basketball history with 800 victories with an 86-52 victory at Southwestern Christian University (1/17/15). Holley now has an astounding 803 career wins, good for second all-time in the NAIA.
Last season, he coached the Evangels to a tie for second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 12-8 league record, their highest-finish as an NAIA school.
He also led MACU to its first-ever SAC Tournament victory last season and had the program within one spot of qualifying for their initial NAIA National Tournament berth.
After coming up just short for the NAIA Tournament, the Evangels qualified for their 23rd National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Tournament appearance.
The 2013-14 campaign also featured Holley coaching an NAIA All-America performer for the fourth straight season, as guard Semar Farris earned second-team NAIA All-America honors.
Holley has helped the Evangels become competitive in a short period of time in the Sooner Athletic Conference and broke through in 2012-13. Holley guided the Evangels to a finish of third in the SAC with a 9-7 league record. MACU made their first appearance in the NAIA Top 25 in school history, coming in as high as tied for 23rd. The Evangels went on to capture their 20th NCCAA Central Regional Championship and finished fifth at the NCCAA National Tournament.
The 2012-13 season also featured guard Charlie Shorter, who was named SAC Player of the Year, NCCAA National Player of the Year and was a first-team NAIA All-America selection. It's the third straight season Holley has coached an NAIA All-American, as Shorter and Brandon Williams were Honorable-Mention selections in 2011-12 and 2010-11, respectively.
Holley's coaching style is to establish in his players a "no quit" attitude. This style led to an improbable NCCAA National Championship in 2007. The title was the fourth of Holley's illustrious career as he previously won the championship in 1998, 2003, and 2004. This year the plan is to take that same attitude and improve on last season's effort.
During his time at Mid-America, Holley has become a fixture in the athletic program, as he served as Athletic Director from 1973-2012. In 1997, Holley was inducted into the NCCAA Hall of Fame, and he has been named the NCCAA Division II Coach of the Year four times - 1985, 1995, 2000 and 2004. Holley has also coached 18 All- Americans and won numerous conference and regional championships.
Holley earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from University of Louisiana - Monroe in 1970. He and his wife, Janet, have three daughters: Angela, Jessica and Stacey.
John Martin is in his seventh season at the helm of the St. Gregory's University Cavaliers and guided the Cavaliers to the NAIA Final Four last season. Before coming to SGU, Martin was the head coach of Moore HS for three years and at John Marshall HS in OKC for two seasons. Martin guided John Marshall to a state championship in 2003.
Up Next: The Evangels will be away from home for five of their final six games of the 2014-15 campaign, starting next Thursday night (Feb. 12) at John Brown University. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Siloam Springs, Ark.
