The Lowdown: Oklahoma City University @ No. 15 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Jan. 14 @ 8 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
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Chick-Fil-A Night: Tomorrow night is Chick-Fil-A night and will be fun-filled for the whole family, featuring free food giveaways, games, prizes and an appearance by the official Chick-Fil-A cow.
The Dish on the Evangels: Following a brief hiatus, the Mid-America Christian University Evangels have jumped back into the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' poll at No. 15.
The Evangels, 12-3 on the season and 2-1 within the Sooner Athletic Conference, are riding a four-game winning streak, including a 95-85 victory over No. 24-ranked Wayland Baptist University last Saturday afternoon (Jan. 9) in the "NAIA Game of the Week."
The Evangels also routed Haskell Indian Nations University 103-64 and defeated John Brown University 93-75 last week.
Nick Tate currently leads the Evangels in both points (17.1 ppg) and rebounds (6.8 rpg), with Devonse Reed following closely at 16.7 ppg. Jerrick Massenburge is scoring 13.0 ppg, while Bryon Miller averages 11.9 ppg along with a team-high 33 threes on the season. Chris Runnels is also averaging double-figure scoring with 10.6 ppg and leads the team with 37 blocks. Malcolm Mann has dished out a team-best 78 assists this year.
Also, Runnels ranks fourth in the NAIA in blocks per game (2.6 bpg) and Mann is 10th in assists per game (5.5 apg).
As a team, the Evangels are fourth in the NAIA in turnover margin (5.067), sixth in scoring per game (92.6 ppg), seventh in blocks per game (4.4 bpg) and ninth in both threes per game (9.7) and assists per game (17.7 apg).
The Dish on the Stars: The Oklahoma City University Stars are 6-4 overall and 3-1 in the SAC after falling 75-64 at home to John Brown University last Saturday (Jan. 9) for their first conference setback of the season.
Terence Bonhomme leads the Stars with 14.8 ppg, with Dorion Gigger producing a double-double of 12.1 ppg with a team-leading 10.0 rebounds per game. Lou Dunbar is scoring 10.5 ppg and Jamil Donovan leads OCU with 45 assists on the season.
In the NAIA, Gigger ranks fifth in defensive rebounds per game (7.2).
The Series: After splitting the season series last year that saw each squad win on the road, the Evangels are now 8-9 against the Stars since joining the NAIA in 2007. The Evangels bested the Stars 81-78 at OCU before the Stars bounced back to win 72-67 here in the second meeting. MACU is also 3-5 vs. OCU inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
Fact of the Century: Under first-year head coach Josh Gamblin, the Evangels have scored 100 or more points on eight occasions this year, already more than any other season since joining the NAIA. In fact, the Evangels had only reached the century mark 11 times in the eight combined prior seasons as an NAIA school. MACU is 7-1 thus far when scoring at least 100 points this season. On the flip side, the Evangels are 0-2 when allowing the opposition to score 100 points.
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 12-3 start. Gamblin replaced 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.
Vinay Patel is in his first season as head coach at Oklahoma City University following a one-year stint as assistant coach at Rogers State University last season. Prior to that, Patel had been the interim coach at West Texas A&M University.
Up Next: The Evangels will next be in action Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16) at St. Gregory's University. Tip-off will be at 5 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla.
