The Lowdown: No. 14 Mid-America Christian University vs. No. 1 Georgetown (Ky.)
Buffalo Funds-NAIA National Championship Game
Time: Mar. 22 @ 7:02 p.m.
Location: Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.
Ticket Info: Click HERE or call the NAIA National Office @ 816-595-8142
Live Broadcast: ESPN3, Click HERE for link
Radio: 1660 The Score, Click HERE to listen
Live Stats: Click HERE
Live Audio Stream: Click HERE
The Dish on the Evangels: After a hard-fought 93-89 victory over the sixth-seeded and No. 23-ranked Campbellsville (Ky.) Tigers last night in the NAIA Fab Four, the fourth-seeded and No. 14-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels find themselves playing for an NAIA National Championship tonight (Mar. 22) against top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Georgetown (Ky.).
"What an effort from our group vs. a very good and well coached Campbellsville team," MACU head coach Josh Gamblin said. "The credit goes 100 % to our guys, they played their hearts out and figured it out down the stretch."
After watching the Tigers erase a 16-point deficit to take a four-point lead at the 8:12 mark of the second half, the Evangels scratched and clawed and regained the lead 82-81 behind buckets from Malcolm Mann and Nick Tate with 5:35 remaining.
Sekou Harris then briefly put the Tigers back on top with two free throws, but a turnover led to a game-tying layup by Mann on the other end and two free throws by Devonse Reed made it 87-85 Evangels at the 2:08 mark.
The Evangels wouldn't trail again, but the Tigers weren't through and tied the score two more times until Bryon Miller carved out a spot inside and scored the go-ahead shot with nine seconds remaining.
It was a hectic final nine seconds, as the Evangels got a stop but had to withstand two misses at the foul line that gave Campbellsville a chance to tie or win with a three.
But the Tigers' inbound pass sailed out of bounds, giving valuable possession back to the Evangels.
Nick Tate then finished things at the charity stripe for the Evangels with two clutch free throws.
Reed led the Evangels with a career-high 30 points and Miller had a double-double of 16 points and career-best 12 rebounds. Mann had 14 points and team-high seven assists, with Tate adding 11 points for the Evangels.
Reed leads the Evangels in scoring (16.0 ppg) and Tate ranks second in scoring (15.5 ppg) along with a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game. Miller is third in scoring with 13.5 ppg and has hit 86 threes, while Jerrick Massenburge is averaging 12.1 ppg and has also connected on 86 treys. Mann has dished out a team-high 179 assists on the season, the most in a season for the Evangels since joining the NAIA. Runnels is also scoring in double-figures with 11.3 ppg and has a team-best and school single-season record 58 blocks.
The Dish on the Tigers: The top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Georgetown (Ky.) College Tigers enter tonight's national title tilt on quite a roll, having won 11 straight and 16 of their past 17 games to come in at 32-3 overall.
Noah Cottrill and Deondre McWhorter have been the catalysts for Georgetown this season, each leading the team with 18.3 points per game, while Cottrill has hit a team-high 100 threes and McWhorter is pulling down a team-best 10.0 rebounds per game. Tony Kimbro is third in scoring with 12.9 ppg and has also recorded 113 assists. Trent Gilbert is averaging 10.9 ppg this season for the Tigers.
The Series: This will be the first matchup between MACU and Georgetown since the Evangels became an NAIA school in 2007.
Road to the Fab Four: MACU: def. Park (Mo.) 88-86, Biola (Calif.) 88-80, Cumberlands (Ky.) 77-73 & Campbellsville (Ky.) 93-89.
Georgetown (Ky.) def. Wayland Baptist 102-83, Arizona Christian 80-78, William Penn (Iowa) 99-80 & MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 90-83.
Common Opposition: The Evangels and Tigers' common opposition this year has been Campbellsville (Ky.) (MACU: 1-0, GC: 3-0), Cumberlands (Ky.) (MACU: 1-0, GC: 2-1) Wayland Baptist (MACU: 1-2, GC: 1-0) and MidAmerica Nazarene (MACU: 1-1, GC: 1-0).
Bluegrass Threesome: Tonight's matchup against Georgetown (Ky.) will be the Evangels' third straight against a team from Kentucky. MACU defeated Cumberlands (Ky.) 77-73 in the quarterfinal and then Campbellsville (Ky.) 93-89 last night in the NAIA Fab Four. All three schools compete in the Mid-South Conference.
Stepping It Up on the Big Stage: After last night's 93-89 triumph over Campbellsville (Ky.) in the NAIA Fab Four, the Evangels are now a combined 6-1 in their two NAIA National Tournament appearances.
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 school-best (as an NAIA school) 27-9 record thus far this season and the program's first-ever NAIA National Championship game appearance.
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 Briggs is in his fifth season at the helm of the Georgetown College Tigers. Briggs guided the Tigers to the 2013 NAIA national championship and was named the NAIA Coach of the Year that same season.
