The Lowdown: No. 17 Wayland Baptist University @ (RV) Mid-America Christian University
"NAIA D-I MBB Game of the Week" #NAIADIMBB
Time: Jan. 9 @ 3 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Gaulke is the Place to Be: The Gaulke Activity Center will host the NAIA D-I MBB Game of the Week tomorrow afternoon pitting the No. 17-ranked Wayland Baptist University Pioneers and the Mid-America Christian University Evangels. It's a showdown of the top two teams from last season in the Sooner Athletic Conference, with the Evangels capturing their first SAC regular season championship and the second-place Pioneers taking home the SAC tournament title.
Hashtag it: The hashtag to use while tweeting about this big matchup is #NAIADIMBB
The Dish on the Evangels: The Mid-America Christian University Evangels tightened up defensively in the second half and pulled away for a 93-75 victory over the John Brown University Golden Eagles in Sooner Athletic Conference action tonight (Jan. 7) inside the Gaulke Activity Center. The Evangels are now 11-3 overall and 1-1 in the SAC.
The Evangels broke it open by outscoring the Golden Eagles 15-2 over a seven-minute stretch that extended an eight-point lead all the way to 93-72 with 1:48 remaining.
The key to the surge was the Evangels stifling defense that limited JBU to only a pair of free throws from the 8:25 mark to the 1:36 point. The Golden Eagles missed all 13 of their field-goal attempts during the Evangels' game-deciding run.
MACU also did a good job getting to the free-throw line and taking advantage at the charity stripe, hitting 9-of-10 at the foul line during that span.
Chris Runnels led the Evangels (11-3, 1-1 SAC) with a career-high 24 points and also pulled down eight rebounds and blocked five shots. Nick Tate scored 13 and also had eight boards, while Jerrick Massenburge added 12 points. Devonse Reed scored 11, with Bryon Miller and Jason Nwisienyi each contributing 10 points. Malcolm Mann paced MACU with a career-best nine rebounds along with six assists.
Reed leads the Evangels in scoring at 16.8 ppg, followed by Tate's 16.5 ppg and team-high 6.7 rebounds per game. Massenburge is scoring 12.4 ppg, while Miller averages 11.5 ppg. Miller and Massenburge have each hit a team-high 29 threes on the season. Runnels is also averaging double-figure scoring with 11.1 ppg and leads the team with 35 blocks. Mann has dished out a team-best 72 assists this year.
Runnels ranks fourth in the NAIA in blocks per game (2.6 bpg) and Mann is 10th in assist/turnover ratio (4.0).
As a team, the Evangels are sixth in the NAIA in turnover margin (4.6), while ranking eighth in scoring offense per game (92.5 ppg)) and ninth in threes per game (9.7).
The Dish on the Pioneers: The No. 17-ranked Wayland Baptist University Pioneers are currently 11-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 thus far in the SAC. WBU has alternated wins and losses in their past four games following a five-game winning streak.
Robert Waters leads the Pioneers with 23.5 ppg and 52 assists this season, with Maurice Redmond ranking second in scoring at 15.4 ppg along with a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. Jordon Johnson is third in scoring at 11.9 ppg, while Jordan Tolbert (11.6 ppg), Anietie Jack (11.3 ppg) and Marshall Nelson (10.4 ppg) also score in double-figures.
The Pioneers rank second in the NAIA in scoring offense (100.4 ppg), steals per game (11.1) and total rebounds per game (47.2 rpg). WBU is also seventh in assists per game (18.1 apg) and 10th in scoring margin (15.6).
Individually, Waters leads the NAIA in threes per game (4.4) and is sixth in points per game (23.5 ppg). Meanwhile, Redmond is seventh in steals per game (2.2 spg).
The Series: The Evangels are 6-10 against Wayland Baptist since joining the NAIA in 2007 after losing two of three to the Pioneers last season. The Evangels defeated WBU 83-64 at home in the first matchup, but fell 77-69 at WBU in the season finale after MACU had already clinched the SAC regular season championship. The two teams then met again in the SAC tournament championship game, with the Pioneers prevailing 94-60. The Evangels are 4-4 vs. WBU at home.
That's Offensive: The matchup between the Evangels and Pioneers figures to be entertaining and feature plenty of points between two of the top scoring teams in the NAIA. WBU is second in the NAIA in scoring (100.4 ppg), while the Evangels rank eighth (92.5 ppg).
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 an 11-3 start. Gamblin replaces 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.
Ty Harrelson is in his first season as head coach of the Wayland Baptist University Pioneers. Harrelson is no stranger to WBU, having played two seasons for the Pioneers from 2001-03 and being inducted into the WBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. For the past 12 years, Harrelson has played and coached professional basketball, most recently in Australia.
Up Next: The Evangels will conclude their three-game homestand Thursday night (Jan. 14) against Oklahoma City University. Tip-off will be 8 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
