OKLAHOMA CITY -- After a scoreless first half, Jerrick Massenburge caught fire and keyed a huge second half run to lift the No. 9-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels to their seventh straight victory, a 98-88 win over the No. 16-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions in an NAIA Top 25 showdown tonight (Jan. 21) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.?
In the opening half, it was Jason Gentry who shots lights out for SAGU, knocking down 5-of-7 from three-point distance to help the Lions to a 47-39 lead at the break.?
The second half was a different tale, with Gentry being limited to 1-of-7 from the perimeter as Massenburge heated up to hit 6-of-8 from beyond the arc after missing his only three-point attempt in the first half.?
Trailing by seven at the 13:01 mark of the second half, consecutive buckets by Chris Runnels and Malcolm Mann cut the SAGU lead to three when Massenburge took over with five threes and scored 19 points overall to fuel a 29-5 outburst for an 81-64 lead with 4:36 remaining.?
Rishaad Alexander wouldn't let the Lions go quietly and scored 11 points of a 17-6 spurt that made it a two-possession game at 88-82 with 1:38 remaining.?
But the Evangels stepped to the line and hit 8-of-10 at the charity stripe over the next 53 seconds left to stretch the lead back to 14 and put the finishing touches on the victory.?
Massenburge scored all 19 of his points in the second half, going 6-of-10 overall and 6-of-9 from the perimeter. Nick Tate, the reigning SAC, NCCAA and OSN Player of the Week, continued his stellar play with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. With the Lions shooting 52.9 percent (18-of-34) and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from three-point distance in the first half, it was Tate that kept the Evangels close with 17 points on 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.?
Runnels had 18 points for the Evangels (15-3, 5-1 SAC), including a career-best 10-of-14 at the free-throw line. ?Mann also had a solid all-around game of 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. ?The nine boards for Mann equal a career-high. Devante Moore also reached double-figures with 12 points.?
Alexander and Gentry each led the Lions (14-5, 5-2 SAC) with 22 points, with Alexander also dishing out nine assists. Michael Ryce added 10 points for SAGU.?
It was also a tale of two halves for both squads shooting the ball, as the Evangels limited the Lions to only 32.5 percent (13-of-40) from the field in the second half and 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from the perimeter. ?Meanwhile, MACU warmed up to a 47.1 percent (16-of-34) clip in the second half after shooting only 37.9 percent (11-of-29) in the opening half.?
The Evangels also outrebounded the Lions 49-37 overall, with a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass.?
MACU will now look to make it eight straight wins on the road at Southwestern Christian University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23) at 5 p.m. in Bethany, Okla.?
