OKLAHOMA CITY -- After watching the St. Gregory's University Cavaliers rally from an 11-point deficit to lead by three late in the second half, the No. 12-ranked 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.
The Cavaliers again wouldn't go quietly and came within three on two more occasions, but the Evangels staved off SGU by hitting six-of-seven at the charity stripe over the final 34 seconds to close out the win.
The Evangels had led from the 18:02 mark of the first half and by as much as 13 in the opening half, but the Cavaliers hung close and came within 35-29 at the break.
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.
Ritchie paced the Cavaliers (7-13, 2-10 SAC) with 24 points, while Richard Shields scored 20.
The Cavaliers outrebounded the Evangels 39-37, but MACU enjoyed a 38-16 edge in points in the paint.
The Evangels will next host USAO Thursday night (Feb. 11) at 8 p.m. MACU will be looking to avenge the Drovers' 95-93 win in the season's first matchup (Jan. 26) in Chickasha, Okla.
