OKLAHOMA CITY -- In a wild game that featured 19 lead changes and 12 ties, the No. 1-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels finally took the final lead in the second overtime and held on for a 105-100 victory over an upset-minded Haskell Indian Nations University Indian squad tonight (Nov. 18) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
With Haskell leading 98-96, Ex'Zavia Seaton put in his ninth point of the second overtime session to tie the score before Robert Romero hit a go-ahead three with 46 seconds left that finally gave the Evangels a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The Indians weren't quite done though as T'salidi Seqouia scored on a putback inside that made it a one-point game with 21 seconds left.
But Olajuwon Garner, who hit big shots all night in scoring a career-high 30 points, hit two critical free throws that was followed by two more at the charity stripe by Devante Moore with five seconds left to put away the win for the Evangels.
The Evangels appeared to have things under control midway through the second half, twice leading by 13 points when the Indians made their charge back and made things very interesting.
The Indians used a 13-2 burst to come within two at the 6:15 mark of the second half before grabbing their first lead since the latter stages of the opening half on a score inside from Seqouia that made it 78-77 with 2:59 left in regulation.
Romero then scored inside to put the Evangels back on top and ignited a sequence of five lead changes over the remainder of the second half.
MACU led 84-82 when Seqouia again scored inside to tie score with 31 seconds left and send the game into overtime.
The first overtime period was a defensive struggle, with each team failing to hit a field-goal and only scoring two points on two free-throws.
The Indians had the ball with a chance to win it, but the Evangels got a crucial defensive stop to send the game into the second overtime.
The second overtime saw both squads open things up offensively, with the Evangels outscoring the Indians 19-14 to pull out the hard-fought win.
Haskell started out strong in the first half, leading by as much as nine points on two occasions, with the last coming 29-20 at the 7:06 mark.
Four points from Keyshawn Perkins and threes from Seaton and Garner provided a 10-0 response that put the Evangels in front 30-29.
Garner hit three more from the perimeter during the final 4:27 of the half to help the Evangels carry a 44-40 lead into the locker room.
Garner's career-best 30 point output also featured a career-high seven makes from beyond the arc on 15 attempts.
Romero added a career-high 21 points in helping the Evangels avoid the upset and knocked three from three-point distance.
Seaton produced a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, while the Evangels (4-1) also got a double-double of 12 points and a personal season-high 10 assists from Malcolm Mann. Jordan Rhodes also reached double-figure scoring with 10 points along with eight boards.
Seqouia kept the Indians in it throughout with 29 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. Keith Moore scored 18 and George Hill had 13 points for Haskell (2-5).
The Evangels will next host Kansas Christian College Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 22) at 3 pm.
