The Lowdown: USAO @ No. 11 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Feb. 11 @ 8 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
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Live Stats
The Dish on the Evangels: After watching the St. Gregory's University Cavaliers rally from an 11-point deficit to lead by three late in the second half, the Mid-America Christian University Evangels rallied back and pulled out an 84-78 victory in Sooner Athletic Conference action tonight (Feb. 6) inside the Gaulke Activity Center. The win keeps the Evangels in second place in the SAC, one game behind conference leader Texas Wesleyan University.
Once the Cavaliers had erased the Evangels' 11 point lead in the second half to tie the score at 66-66 and then jump ahead on a three by Kevin Ritchie and putback by Tim Stromberg with 2:45 remaining, Malcolm Mann led the charge back for MACU down the stretch.
Mann made it a one-point game with a pair of free throws and then rebounded a miss and drove coast to coast for a three-point play that gave the Evangels a 73-71 lead at the 2:11 mark.
Nick Tate then got position for an offensive rebound and putback before Mann again drew a foul and hit two free throws to finish a 9-0 spurt that gave the Evangels a six-point lead with 50 seconds left.
Mann led the Evangels (19-5, 9-3 SAC) with 16 points, hitting all four of his field-goal attempts and eight-of-nine at the foul line. Tate scored 15 with a team-high eight rebounds, with Chris Runnels also chipping in with 15 points. Bryon Miller added 10 points for the Evangels.
Nick Tate currently leads the No. 11-ranked Evangels in both points (16.3 ppg) and rebounds (7.5 rpg), with Devonse Reed second in scoring with 15.1 ppg. Miller is third in scoring with 13.4 ppg and has hit a team-high 63 threes on the season. Massenburge is scoring 13.1 ppg, while Runnels also averages double-figure scoring with 10.8 ppg and has blocked a team-high 45 shots. Mann has dished out a team-best 135 assists this season.
Mann is eighth in the NAIA in assists per game (5.8) and Miller is eighth in assist/turnover ratio (3.091) Mann is also ninth in assist/turnover ratio (3.068), while Runnels is ninth in blocks per game (1.9).
As a team, the Evangels are sixth in the NAIA in assists per game (17.5), seventh in scoring offense per game (91) and ninth in turnover margin (3.417).
The Dish on the Drovers: The USAO Drovers are 12-8 overall and 7-5 in the SAC, having alternated wins and losses their past seven games. The Drovers are coming off a 105-80 win over Bacone College last Saturday (Feb. 6).
Taran Buie is pacing the Drovers with 22.8 ppg that ranks fifth in the NAIA, while David Tucker is second in scoring at 15.5 ppg along with a team-high 89 assists. Richard McCalop is third on the team in scoring with 13.7 ppg and has recorded a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game. USAO is also getting double-figure scoring from Brendan Chapman (12.0 ppg) and Markens Charles (10.4 ppg).
The Series: The Evangels are 11-7 against USAO since joining the NAIA after the Drovers slipped past MACU 95-93 in the first meeting this season. The setback snapped a five-game winning streak for the Evangels over the Drovers. The Evangels won all three matchups last season, including a 79-67 win in the quarterfinals of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. MACU is also 7-1 vs. the Drovers at home and have won the past six meetings inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
Fact of the Century: Under first-year head coach Josh Gamblin, the Evangels have scored 100 or more points on 10 occasions this year, already more than any other season since joining the NAIA. In fact, the Evangels had only reached the century mark 11 times in the eight combined prior seasons as an NAIA school. MACU is 9-1 when scoring at least 100 points this season, but have lost all three times they've allowed the opposition to reach the century mark.
The Coaches:
Josh Gamblin is in his first season as the head coach of the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball program. Gamblin's impact has been immediate, guiding the Evangels to a 19-5 record thus far this year and a No. 11 ranking in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' poll.
Gamblin comes 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.
"We really appreciate all of Josh's assistance during his time with the Sooners and I know he'll do a fantastic job," Kruger said. "MACU is lucky to have him."
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.
"Josh has worked at the highest level and continually strives to learn and become a better coach each day," Del Negro said. "He is constantly working to improve his craft and striving for excellence is everything he does."
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 infant son Miles.
Chris Francis is in his first season as head coach of the USAO Drovers and has been with the program since 2013. Prior to arriving at USAO, Francis served as an assistant coach at LSU Shreveport, where he helped the program to an NAIA National Championship Fab Four appearance.
Up Next: The Evangels will hit the road and play at Wayland Baptist University Saturday afternoon (Feb. 13) at 3 p.m. in Plainview, Texas. MACU bested the Pioneers 95-85 in the first matchup this season (Jan. 9).
