The Lowdown: No. 12 Texas Wesleyan University @ No. 7 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Jan. 30 @ 5 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
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Live Stats:
High Stakes: The winner of tomorrow's NAIA Top 25 showdown between the seventh-ranked Evangels and No. 12-ranked Texas Wesleyan University Rams will take over sole possession of first-place in the Sooner Athletic Conference, with both schools entering with identical 7-2 conference records. The Evangels and Rams couldn't be playing much better at the moment, as each school has won nine of its last 10 games.
The Dish on the Evangels: After seeing their eight-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night (Jan. 26) at USAO, the Evangels rebounded in a big way by defeating the Bacone College Warriors 102-88 tonight (Jan. 28) in Sooner Athletic Conference action inside a boisterous Gaulke Activity Center.
MACU, now 17-4 overall, had several players stuff the stat sheet, led by Bryon Miller's career-high 29 points and Malcolm Mann's career-best 13 assists, which ties for the most dimes in a game for the Evangels as an NAIA school. Jerrick Massenburge and Devonse Reed each scored 23 and Chris Runnels added 12 points. Ex'Zavia Season led the way with a career-high tying 11 rebounds.
Nick Tate currently leads the Evangels in both points (17.2 ppg) and rebounds (7.4 rpg), with Devonse Reed second in scoring with 16.3 ppg. Jerrick Massenburge and Bryon Miller are each scoring 13.6 ppg, with Miller hitting a team-high 56 threes on the season. Chris Runnels is also averaging double-figure scoring with 10.4 ppg and leads the team with 41 blocks. Malcolm Mann has dished out a team-best 124 assists this year.
Also, Mann is sixth in the NAIA in assists per game (6.2 apg) and Runnels is seventh in blocks per game (2.0 bpg). Mann also ranks ninth in assists/turnover ratio (3.5) and 10th in total steals (40).
As a team, the Evangels are fourth in the NAIA in assists per game (18.3), fifth in scoring offense per game (92.9), seventh in both threes made (207) and turnover margin (4.3), while ranking ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.3), threes per game (9.8), total blocks (87) and total steals (184).
The Dish on the Rams: The Rams are riding a six-game winning streak and are 16-4 overall. TWU extended their winning streak to six games with an 84-76 win over No. 20-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University Thursday night (Jan. 28).
Jerell Ellis is pacing the Rams with 18.9 ppg and Sam Akano is second at 15.5 ppg. Chris Gracela has a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game and Dion Rogers is scoring 12.7 ppg with a team-best 70 assists on the season.
As a team, the Rams are fourth in the NAIA in total rebound margin (10.7) and are sixth in both total rebounds per game (44.1) and offensive rebounds per game (15.3). TWU is also seventh in assists per game (17.9) and ninth in scoring margin (12.3).
Individually, Gracela is third in the NAIA in offensive rebounds per game (3.8) and Henry Buckley is fifth in blocks per game (2.2). Ellis is also seventh in free-throw percentage (.864).
The Series: After sweeping the season series the past two years to improve to 4-0 against the Rams since joing the NAIA, TWU bested the Evangels 110-11 in this season's first meeting (Dec. 5) in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Fact of the Century: Under first-year head coach Josh Gamblin, the Evangels have scored 100 or more points on 10 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 9-1 thus far when scoring at least 100 points this season. On the flip side, the Evangels have lost all three times they've allowed 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. Gamblin's impact has been immediate, guiding the Evangels to a 17-4 record thus far and has the Evangels ranked tied for seventh in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' poll, their highest NAIA ranking in school history.
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.
Brennen Shingleton is in his fourth season at the helm of Texas Wesleyan University following a 10-year tenure as an assistant coach and later as an associate head coach at TWU.
Up Next: The seventh-ranked Evangels will play at Oklahoma City University Thursday night (Feb. 4) at 8 p.m. MACU defeated OCU 92-78 in the first matchup this season (Jan. 14).
