OKLAHOMA CITY – On a night when the defending NAIA National Champion and No. 1-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels received their championship rings and saw their official NAIA Championship banner raised to the rafters, they played inspired basketball and flexed their muscle to a degree that makes you believe they'll be in contention for more rings and another banner throughout the season.
MACU put on an offensive clinic by scoring the most points in school history as an NAIA program in a resounding 123-93 victory over the Philander Smith College Panthers tonight (Oct. 28) inside a packed and raucous Gaulke Activity Center.
The Evangels seemed to feed off the crowd's energy, particularly during a game-ending run in the second half.
"Hands down the best atmosphere I've ever been a part of here," MACU head coach Josh Gamblin said.
"It got us going, especially in the second half. Ex'Zavia Seaton told me he couldn't even hear the defensive calls it was so loud in the second half."
The Evangels carried a 62-49 lead into the break behind a combined nine-of-10 three-point shooting performance from Jordan Rhodes and Olajuwon Garner.
Rhodes was a perfect five-of-five from three-point distance in the opening half, while Garner nailed four of his five three-point tries.
The second half was all Evangels, as MACU outscored the Panthers by a whopping 30-5 during the first eight minutes out of the locker room.
The big burst included five straight points from Tyler Chaisson to begin the run and a rim-rocking, driving dunk by Malcolm Mann.
The Evangels twice expanded the lead to a game-high 45 points, with the last coming on a three by Will Brewer that made it 109-64 with 7:26 remaining.
Rhodes led eight Evangels in double-figure scoring with 23 points on 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the perimeter.
Garner finished with 22 points and hit six-of-nine from three-point distance. The Evangels also got 13 points each from Chaisson and Devante Moore and 11 points and team-high nine rebounds from Seaton.
Mann, Devonse Reed and Robert Romero each chipped in with 10 points, with Mann dishing out a game-high nine assists and Reed securing a career-best four steals.
Christopher Ward paced the Panther's offense with a game-high 33 points, but only nine points after halftime following a 24-point first half.
That was a result of the Evangels clamping down defensively in the second half, limiting the Panthers to only 35.3 percent (12-of-34) from the field after a 44.7 percent (17-of-38) shooting clip in the first half.
MACU also out-rebounded the Panthers 28-16 in the second half in response to Philander holding a 24-19 edge on the boards in the first half.
As a unit, the Evangels shot the ball well from beyond the arc, hitting 16-of-32 overall, including a sizzling 64.3 percent (9-of-14) clip in the opening half.
The 2-0 Evangels will next play an exhibition game against NCAA D-II member Southwestern Oklahoma State University next Saturday (Nov. 5) at 3 p.m.
