The Lowdown: Southwestern Christian University @ No. 13 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Feb. 20 @ 5 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Evangels: The No. 13-ranked Mid-America Christian Evangels completed a season sweep of the John Brown University Golden Eagles with a 76-63 victory (Feb. 18) at Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark.
The Evangels have now won four straight in the series after also sweeping the Golden Eagles last season.
The win also keeps MACU all alone in second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference with an 11-4 league record, one game ahead of Oklahoma City University and two games behind front-runner Texas Wesleyan University. The Evangels also hold the tiebreaker over OCU due to sweeping the season series with the Stars.
MACU took control of this contest early, taking the lead for good on a bucket by Chris Runnels at the 13:49 mark of the first half before extending the edge to 14 as threes from Bryon Miller and Jerrick Massenburge capped a 10-0 spurt that made it 31-17.
The Evangels led 35-25 at the break and put it away by outscoring the Golden Eagles 22-6 over a five-minute stretch in the second half that stretched a six-point lead all the way to a 61-39 cushion with 9:34 remaining.
MACU nailed five three-pointers during that span, including two treys from Massenburge and a three each from Nick Tate, Ex'Zavia Seaton and Devonte Moore.
Tate led the Evangels (21-6, 11-4 SAC) with 17 points and Runnels recorded a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds along with a career-high tying four assists. Massenburge also scored 15 points and hit five-of-10 from the perimeter.
Tate currently leads the No. 13-ranked Evangels in both points (16.9 ppg) and rebounds (7.3 rpg), with Devonse Reed second in scoring with 15.0 ppg. Massenburge and Miller each average 12.8 ppg and both are counted upon to do damage beyond the arc. Massenburge leads the Evangels with 68 threes, while Miller has connected on 65 three-pointers this season. Runnels is averaging 11.2 ppg and has a team-high 49 blocks on the season. Runnels' 49 blocks is tied for his own school single-season record as an NAIA school and is only six away from the overall school mark. Malcolm Mann has dished out a team-best 144 assists for MACU.
Mann is 10th in the NAIA in assists per game (5.5) and Runnels ranks 10th 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 Eagles: The Southwestern Christian University Eagles have lost their last two games and three out of their last four overall. This is coming off a span that saw SCU win five of six, with the only setback during that stretch a 72-69 home loss to the Evangels (1/23). The Eagles are 12-12 overall and 8-7 in the SAC.
Marvin White is scoring a team-high 18.8 ppg for the Eagles, with James Still second at 15.5 ppg and a team-best 10.3 rebounds per game. The Eagles are also getting double-digit scoring from Gabi Laurent (11.3 ppg) and Parris Hoskins (10.2 ppg). Mikel Parish leads SCU with 106 assists on the season.
Parish is ninth in the NAIA in steals per game (two).
The Series: The Evangels have won all eight meetings against SCU since joining the NAIA, including winning 72-69 in the first matchup this season in Bethany, Okla.
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 four 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 21-6 record thus far this year and a No. 13 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.
Dave Bliss is in his first season as head coach of the Southwestern Christian University Eagles. Bliss is coming off a stint as the athletic director and head coach at Allen Academy in Bryan, Texas. Bliss has won over 500 games in his career, with coaching stops at Oklahoma (1975-80), Southern Methodist (1980-88), New Mexico (1988-89) and Baylor (1999-2003).
Up Next: The Evangels will hit the road for the final two games of the regular season, beginning Thursday night (Feb. 25) at Bacone College. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. in Muskogee, Okla.
