OKLAHOMA CITY – In a battle of NAIA Top 10 squads, the No. 5-ranked Oklahoma City University Stars pulled away in the second half to defeat the No. 10-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels 100-90 in a Sooner Athletic Conference clash tonight (Jan. 5) at Abe Lemons Arena on the OCU campus.
A pivotal point of the contest came when the Evangels took a 53-50 lead on a tip-in by Devonse Reed, only to have the Stars rip off a 16-1 run over the next 3:18 to go up by double-figures at 66-54 with 13:20 left.
The Evangels tried to claw back, twice coming as close as five, once on a three by Olajuwon Garner and then on a jumper from Ex'Zavia Seaton that cut the lead to 78-73 with 9:22 left.
But five straight points Xavier Smith thwarted the Evangels' push and ignited a 13-4 spurt that gave the Stars' their biggest lead of the night at 91-77 at the 5:31 mark.
The Evangels had one more run in them, as a bucket by Chris Bates capped an 8-1 burst that again brought MACU within five at 95-90 with 47 seconds left.
The Stars though held the Evangels scoreless the rest of the way and Jonathan Reed hit three-of-four at the charity stripe followed by a layup to finish the win for OCU.
The opening half was tight throughout, featuring eight ties and 14 lead changes.
The biggest deficit for either side was when the Evangels trailed by five at the 2:19 mark, but that was quickly erased on three-point plays by Tyler Chaisson and Malcolm Mann that put MACU in front 42-41.
After Chaisson split a pair at the line, Syrus McDonald hit two free throws for OCU to appropriately send the game into a 43-43 gridlock at the break.
Chaisson led the Evangels (10-4, 2-1 SAC) with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Reed scored 14 and also pulled down eight boards.
Garner scored 12, with Seaton and Bates each adding 11 points. Mann and Keyshawn Perkins each dished out three assists for MACU.
McDonald led all scorers with 33 points for the Stars (12-1, 3-0 SAC). McDonald hit 10-of-20 from the field and 13-of-15 from the foul line.
Smith had a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds for OCU, while Reed made 13-of-15 from the line and scored 20 points.
Overall at the charity stripe, the Evangels shot 66.7 percent (24-of-36), compared to a robust 84.6 percent (33-of-39) for the Stars.
The Evangels managed to control the glass to the tune of 52-40 overall, including a 24-8 edge in offensive rebounding, fueled by a career-high seven offensive rebounds from Reed and also six offensive boards by Chaisson.
MACU will look to get back on a winning note when it hosts St. Gregory's University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 7) at 5 pm inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
