OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 1-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels earned a hard-fought win over a gamed Lindenwood University-Belleville (Ill.) Lynx squad tonight (Nov. 10), 96-87 inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
With the lead at just four late in the second half, Devonse Reed stepped up and delivered a clutch three-pointer with 1:19 remaining.
Ex'Zavia Seaton then came through with some big rebounds on the defensive end and proceeded to hit five-of-six at the free-throw line over the final 29 seconds to seal the win.
The 3-0 Evangels trailed by two at the half but quickly took the lead on a jumper by Reed and a three from Seaton to open the second stanza.
The Lynx hung tight and battled back to lead 59-57 on a three by MarTavian Payne at the 13:05 mark.
At that point, Malcolm Mann scored five straight points to ignite a 15-4 spurt that put the Evangels in front 72-63 with 8:18 left.
The Evangels then built the lead into double-figures as five points from Tyler Chaisson made it 79-67 with 6:17 remaining.
But the Lynx again wouldn't go away and came within two when a three-point play by Chris Deanes capped a 14-4 spurt.
The opening half was back-and-forth, with the Evangels darting out to an early 14-6 lead, only to have the Lynx respond with 13 straight points to take a three-point lead.
After a three by Reed halted the run, the Lynx then scored the next eight to jump ahead 25-17 at the 10:00 mark of the first half.
Olajuwon Garner got the Evangels right back in it by scoring six points to key an 11-3 push that tied the score with 4:49 remaining.
Following a pair of threes by David Shepard that helped the Lynx extend the edge back to six, Garner again answered with two free throws and a layup to bring the Evangels within two.
That was the margin at the half as the Lynx carried a 42-40 lead into the break.
Reed was the game's high-scorer with 25 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. He shot 9-of-13 from the floor and hit both of his three-point attempts, including the late game dagger.
Garner and Chaisson each scored 17, while Mann had 13 points, six assists and was a perfect seven-of-seven from the charity stripe.
Seaton had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds, with Jordan Rhodes swatting a career-high four shots.
Deanes led the Lynx (3-1) with 23 points and had eight boards. J.T. Jones had 18 points and Shepard also had eight rebounds.
After the Lynx shot 41.5 percent (17-of-41) in the first half, the Evangels clamped down and held them to only a 31.8 percent (14-of-44) clip in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Evangels heated up and shot 60 percent (18-of-30) in the second half after only hitting on 39.4 percent (13-of-33) of their shots in the opening half.
The Lynx out-rebounded the Evangels 47-45, buoyed by a 20-7 edge on the offensive glass.
The Evangels will next host Langston University Tuesday night (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m.
