KANSAS CITY – The No. 14-ranked and fourth-seeded Mid-America Christian University Evangels started strong and withstood a furious rally by the No. 3-ranked and top-seeded Biola University Eagles to win 88-80 and advance to the Buffalo Funds-NAIA National Championship quarterfinal round for the second straight season today (Mar. 18) at the historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. In the process, the Evangels halted the Eagles' NAIA-best 11-game winning streak heading into today's matchup.
The Evangels will now meet sixth-seeded and No. 21-ranked Cumberlands University (Ky.) tomorrow (Mar. 19) at noon. Cumberlands upset second-seeded Talladega (Ala.) 82-80 earlier today.
"We knew Biola was going to be a huge challenge and I thought we came out with a lot of energy and obviously we were making a lot of shots, which makes it easier," said MACU head coach Josh Gamblin.
"I thought our guys did a really good job fighting on the boards. (Biola) is so physical and so strong, I thought we scrapped and got on the floor and won some 50/50 balls."
MACU never trailed and built a 19 point lead within the game's first seven minutes.
Devonse Reed got it going with a three to begin the game and then two free throws in the opening minute.
Bryon Miller then got into the act with consecutive treys and a three-point play by Jerrick Massenburge made it 14-2 at the 15:36 mark.
Two more threes by Massenburge sandwiched around a layup by Chris Runnels made it 24-5.
Another three by Massenburge extended the lead to 20 at 31-11 and after the Eagles clawed within 11, the Evangels closed the half on a high note as four straight points from Miller and threes from Nick Tate and Reed put MACU up 49-30 at the break.
The Evangels maintained a comfortable margin into the second half and gained their largest lead of the game of 21 points on three occasions until the Eagles began their charge back at the 15:28 mark.
The Eagles, entering today's game at 30-3 overall, outscored the Evangels 22-4 over the next 5:30 to make it a one-possession game at 63-60.
After a three by Miller stopped the spurt, the Eagles got as close as two at 69-67 with 6:42 remaining.
From that point, the Evangels regained control and a double-digit lead as Reed hit two free throws and a jumper in the lane before a three by Massenburge capped an 8-0 push that made it 77-67 with four minutes remaining.
Following two free throws from Funches, Reed again had an answer for the Evangels with a bucket that pushed the lead back to 10 with 3:01 left.
The Evangels never let the lead dip below seven the rest of the way and Tate, Reed and Malcolm Mann each hit two clutch free throws over the final 1:40 to stave off the Eagles and to put it away.
Reed led the Evangels with a game-high 27 points and a career-best 11-of-16 at the charity stripe. Miller scored 21 and Massenburge added 17. Tate had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Archer paced the Eagles (30-4) with 22 points, while Funches and Jeff Gonzalez each had 19 points. Gonzalez also had 11 rebounds and Caelan Tiongson had a game-high 12 boards for the Eagles.
The Evangels put together a strong defensive effort throughout, limiting the Eagles to 34.3 percent (23-of-67) shooting overall and a 33.3 percent clip (14-of-42) in the second half. MACU also held the Eagles to only 21.9 percent (seven-of-32) from beyond the arc.
Biola hung in and rallied behind a 47-30 rebounding advantage and a 28-20 edge in points in the paint.
The Evangels enter tomorrow's NAIA quarterfinal matchup against Cumberlands (Ky.) at 25-9 overall, with the 25 wins tying a school-record (as an NAIA school) set during last season's quarterfinal run.
