OKLAHOMA CITY – The Wiley College Wildcats squeaked by the No. 1-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels in dramatic fashion tonight (Nov. 29), 78-76 inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
It's the second straight night the Wildcats have upset a ranked team from the Sooner Athletic Conference, as Wiley won 70-61 at No. 20-ranked Texas Wesleyan University last night (Nov. 28).
With the game tied for the ninth time at 76-76, the Wildcats missed a shot but Ricardo Artis was there for the go-ahead putback with 4.8 seconds remaining.
The Evangels then had possession with a chance to tie or win, but a three by Devonse Reed was off the mark as time expired.
MACU had battled back from an eight-point deficit in the second half to take the lead, using a 14-2 burst to go up 60-56 with 6:11 left.
Olajuwon Garner started the run with five straight points, while Tyler Chaisson scored inside and then converted a three-point play that knotted the score at 56-56.
Two free throws by Jordan Rhodes and a bucket by Reed finished the spurt for the Evangels.
The Evangels later led by as much as five and were still up by four at the 2:49 mark when the Wildcats got a three by Stephen Taylor and score from George Page to jump back in front at the 2:04 mark.
After Chaisson split a pair of free throws to tie the score, Malcolm Mann drove for a go-ahead layup that made it 76-74 with 1:20 remaining.
Kevondric Davis followed that by getting free inside to again tie the score for the Wildcats with 53 seconds left.
In the opening half, the Evangels also fell behind by eight points before Mann hit a jumper to cap a 12-3 run that put MACU in front 31-30 late in the stanza.
The Wildcats tied the score on a free throw by Cory Jones that created a 31-31 gridlock at the break.
Reed and Chaisson each led the Evangels (7-2) with 17 points, with Chaisson also recording team-highs of seven rebounds and four assists. Jordan Rhodes also had seven boards and Mann added 14 points.
Page paced the Wildcats (7-1) with 22 points, while Davis and Patrick Banks each scored 15 points. Banks had a team-best nine boards and Jones tallied a game-high nine assists.
The Wildcats held a narrow edge overall on the glass, out-rebounding the Evangels 39-36.
The Evangels will now take their crack at No. 20 Texas Wesleyan University in the SAC opener Thursday night (Dec. 1) at 8 pm inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
