OKLAHOMA CITY -- The seventh-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels fell for the first time at home this season, 91-71 to the No. 12-ranked Texas Wesleyan University Rams in a showdown for first-place in the Sooner Athletic Conference tonight (Jan. 30) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Evangels were 10-0 at home this year and had won 12 straight overall dating back to the final two games of last season, representing their longest home winning streak as an NAIA school.
Things didn't start well in this game for the Evangels, as the Rams took the early lead with a 7-0 spurt that put them up 12-6 at the 15:57 mark of the opening half.
The Rams never trailed again and increased the lead to 12 as treys from Chris Gracela and Jerell Ellis capped a 10-2 spurt for a 30-18 edge.
With the deficit up to 13, the Evangels put together a 10-2 run of their own that was finished with consecutive buckets from Chris Runnels that made it 41-36. MACU wound up trailing just 44-38 at the break despite missing all nine of their three-point attempts and shooting 38.2 percent (13-of-34) overall.
After a steal and layup by Malcolm Mann brought the Evangels within three at the 16:05 point of the second half, Ellis put the finishing touches on a decisive 22-7 burst with a four-point play and consecutive steals and layups that put the Rams up by a commanding 71-53 margin with 8:55 left.
The Evangels tried to fight back when a three by Bryon Miller began a 7-1 spurt that closed the gap to 12, but Sam Akano answered for the Rams with eight straight points that pushed the lead back to 80-60 with 5:38 remaining and MACU got no closer than 16 the rest of the way.
Following the cold-shooting first half, the Evangels picked it up to a 50 percent (10-of-20) clip in the second half, only to have the Rams warm up from 48.7 percent (19-of-39) in the opening half to a scorching 57.1 percentage (20-of-35) in the final 20 minutes.
Runnels led the Evangels (17-5, 7-3 SAC) with 14 points and Miller and Tate each scored 12, with Tate also securing a team-high eight rebounds. Mann added 11 points and four assists.
Ellis finished with a game-high 25 points to pace the Rams (17-4, 8-2 SAC) and Trevon Jeffery scored 19. Akano tallied 14 points, while Dion Rogers had 10 points and a team-best seven assists. Gracela had a team-best eight boards for the Rams.
The Evangels will now make the short trip to Oklahoma City University to face the Stars Thursday night (Feb. 4) at 8 p.m.
