OKLAHOMA CITY. – The No. 1-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels took care of business tonight (Oct. 25) by dispatching of the Manhattan Christian College Thunder 109-85 in the season opener inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

The Evangels never trailed and got going early, scoring the first 11 points of the game before jumping ahead 19-4 on threes by Devonse Reed and Robert Romero.

MACU continued to pull away and built the lead to 36-12 behind two straight threes by Devante Moore.

With the lead at 19, treys from Jordan Rhodes and Malcolm Mann fueled an 11-0 spurt that extended the lead to 30 at 55-25 and the Evangels went on to a 55-29 at the break.

After the Thunder trimmed the lead to 17 within the first five minutes of the second half, four straight points from Reed capped an 8-0 spurt that pushed the lead back to 68-43 at the 13:51 mark.

The Evangels never looked back from there and twice built the lead to a game-high 35 points, with the last time coming on a three by Will Brewer that made it 109-74 with 1:53 remaining.

Playing in his first career game, Tyler Chaisson led six Evangels in double-figures with 18 points.

Moore scored a career-high 17 points, with Reed and Romero each scoring 16. The Evangels also got 10 points each from Ex'Zavia Seaton and Olajuwon Garner.

Brewer led the Evangels (1-0) with a career-best seven rebounds.  Keyshawn Perkins recorded a team-high six assists and Mann added five dimes.

Michael White paced the Thunder with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Gary Woods also recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards.

Next up, the Evangels will host Philander Smith Friday night (Oct. 28) at 7 p.m. It will be a special night, as the team will receive their NAIA National Championship rings at 6:30 pm, followed by the official unveiling of the NAIA National Championship banner.