The Lowdown: Bacone College at No. 1 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Dec. 3 @ 5 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Evangels: The No. 1-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels are now 8-2 after opening up Sooner Athletic Conference action with a thrilling 91-90 victory over the Texas Wesleyan University Rams in a battle of the past two SAC regular season champions Thursday night (Dec. 1).
With the Evangels down 90-89 late in the second half, Tyler Chaisson drew a foul inside and stepped to the line and hit the two go-ahead free throws with five seconds remaining.
The Evangels then forced a missed shot on the defensive end to finish off the win.
To reach that point, the Evangels had to overcome an outing where they trailed nearly the entire way and were down by as many as 17 points at the 12:32 mark of the second half.
That's when the Evangels made their move behind eight straight points from Devonse Reed that ignited a string of 10 straight points that cut the lead to seven at 76-69.
After the Rams temporarily halted the run with a score from Trevon Jeffrey, Reed assisted on a jumper by Malcolm Mann and then threes from Keyshawn Perkins and Ex'Zavia Seaton pulled the Evangels within one at 78-77, the closest MACU had been since the 17:52 mark of the first half.
The Rams answered and the Evangels got within one on two more occasions before TWU stretched the lead back to five on a bucket by Jeffrey with 3:47 left.
From there, the Evangels finally broke through as a three-point play by Mann, putback from Reed and trey by Olajuwon Garner gave MACU its first lead of the game at 89-86 with 56 seconds remaining.
Garner leads the Evangels in scoring (17.6 ppg) and is second in the SAC and NAIA with 39 threes on the season. Chaisson is scoring 14.8 ppg and Reed is at 12.6 ppg. Seaton is also averaging double-figure scoring with 10.1 ppg along with a team-high 8.6 rebounds a game. Mann is second in the SAC and third in the NAIA with six assists per game.
Also, Seaton is fourth in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (7.5), Chaisson is fifth in field-goal percentage (.679) and Garner ranks eighth in free-throw percentage (.931).
As a team, the Evangels are third in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (35.2), fourth in both assists per game (20.8 apg) and free-throw percentage (.768), fifth in scoring offense per game (99.2) and seventh in total rebound offense (448).
The Dish on the Warriors: The Bacone College Warriors are 3-4 this season after beginning the SAC schedule with an 87-78 win over St. Gregory's University Thursday night (Dec. 1).
JaMael Windom-Hayes leads the Warriors with 12.6 ppg, while Richie Spiller is scoring 12.3 ppg and leads the way with 13 assists. Mauris Hopkins has a team-high 5.6 rebounds for the Warriors.
The Warriors have been stingy defending the perimeter this season, ranking 11th in the NAIA in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.279).
The Series: The Evangels are 4-1 vs. Bacone after sweeping the season series last year. MACU has also won both home meetings against the Warriors.
The Coaches:
In his first season at the helm of the Mid-America Christian University Evangel men's basketball program, head coach Josh Gamblin made a historic, immediate impact. Gamblin guided the Evangels to their first-ever NAIA National Championship, capping off the memorable title run with a thrilling, 100-99 overtime victory over then No. 1-ranked Georgetown (Ky.). In the process, Gamblin become the youngest coach (27 years old) in college basketball history to win a national championship at a four-year institution.
Following the championship triumph, Gamblin was named the 2015-16 Rawlings-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. His character influence was also felt throughout the year, culminating with the program receiving the Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship award at the conclusion of the NAIA National Tournament.
Overall, Gamblin is 36-11 as head coach of the Evangels.
Recently, Gamblin had the privilege of speaking at the Nike Championship Basketball Clinic on the campus of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. Gamblin presented the topic "Covering the Pick and Roll" to attendees and was joined by other premier coaches and players from around the U.S., including coaches Lon Kruger and Sherri Coale from the University of Oklahoma and retired NBA center Swen Nater.
Gamblin came to MACU from the University of Oklahoma, where he was a Graduate Assistant Coach under Head Coach Lon Kruger. There he assisted in all practices and logged scout games. Gamblin also worked with coaches on opponent scouting reports for a squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Prior to arriving at OU, Gamblin served two-years at Southwestern Christian University (SCU) as lead Assistant Coach on Head Coach Quinn Wooldridge's staff. Gamblin's duties at SCU involved recruiting, leading film sessions and analyzing opponent's scouting reports.
During the 2011-12 basketball season, Gamblin worked in the NBA as the Intern Video Coordinator for the Los Angeles Clippers under then-Head Coach Vinny Del Negro. Gamblin helped prepare pre-game scouting reports for the Clippers, as well as logging all opponent games and being involved in coaches meetings. His efforts with the Clippers led to the best winning percentage in team history.
Off the court, Gamblin has served as Clippers' All-Star Forward Blake Griffin's Summer Basketball Trainer for the past three seasons. Gamblin helped Griffin prepare for upcoming basketball seasons by working on a number of offensive and defensive drills—specifically pick and roll coverages, low post moves and ball handling drills.
Gamblin's collegiate-athlete experience includes, but not limited to: competed at SCU on the Men's Basketball team from 2007-11; Varsity Captain (twice); named SCU Male Newcomer of the Year in 2008; and selected as Team MVP for the 2011 season. Additional honors include: Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) Honorable-Mention All-America honors in 2010; a Midlands Collegiate Athletic All-Conference selection in 2011; and named "Mr. Southwestern" in 2011, (awarded to the student who exemplifies the values, traditions and spirit of SCU). After the 2011 season, Gamblin received the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete award.
He graduated from SCU in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and is currently enrolled in the IAA Master's program at the University of Oklahoma.
Gamblin and his wife Jennifer live in Oklahoma City with their one-year old son Miles.
Alan Foster is in his 16th season guiding the Bacone College Warriors. In the 2013-14 season, Foster saw four players earn Red River all-conference honors. Prior to arriving at Bacone, Foster was the head coach at Kemper Military Junior College from 1994-2000. In addition to serving as head coach, Foster is also the school's Athletic Director and Assistant Vice President of Athletics.
Up Next: MACU will play an exhibition game next Saturday (Dec. 10) at the University of Central Oklahoma, an NCAA D-II school in Edmond, Okla. Tip-off will be at 3:30 pm.
