The Lowdown: Crowley's Ridge College @ No. 10 Mid-America Christian University
Time: Jan. 10 @ 4 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Evangels: The No. 10-ranked Mid-America Christian University Evangels were dealt a tough 74-69 loss on Saturday (Jan. 7) to the St. Gregory's University Cavaliers.
The Evangels led from the outset until the Cavaliers pulled even on a Rodney Smith bucket at the 11:52 mark of the second half that made it 48-48.
There would be two more ties until another score from Smith gave SGU its first lead of the game at 56-54 with 8:56 left.
It went back and forth from that point, with three more gridlocks until a free throw by Malik Barnett put the Cavaliers in front to stay, 63-62 at the 4:50 mark.
Smith then hit another shot before nailing a three to give the Cavaliers a four-point lead of 68-64 with 2:24 remaining.
Still down four with 1:14 left, the Evangels still had some fight left, as Malcolm Mann scored to cut the lead to two and following a turnover, Devonse Reed drew a foul but split a pair at the charity stripe to bring MACU within 70-69 with 38 seconds remaining.
But Jordan Rutherford hit two free throws for the Cavaliers and following an Evangel turnover, Kilder Gonzalez made two free throws to seal the win for SGU.
The loss drops the Evangels to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Olajuwon Garner leads the Evangels in scoring (16.0 ppg) and is tied for the lead in both the SAC and NAIA with 55 threes on the season. He is also second in the SAC and 10th in the NAIA in three-point percentage (.491).
Tyler Chaisson is scoring 14.0 ppg and Reed is at 12.6 ppg. Ex'Zavia Seaton is also averaging double-figure scoring with 10.5 ppg along with a team-high 8.3 rebounds a game. Mann is second in the SAC and sixth in the NAIA with 5.7 assists per game.
Also, Seaton is second in the SAC and seventh in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (7.2).
As a team, the Evangels are all over the map in the NAIA rankings. MACU is tops in scoring offense per game (95.9 ppg), third in the categories of defensive rebounds per game (34.0 rpg)), free-throw percentage (.759), assists per game (19.3) and fifth in both threes per game (10.5) and total rebounds per game (44.8).
The Dish on the Pioneers: The Crowley's Ridge Pioneers are currently 2-12 on the season and are coming off a 90-84 win at Morthland College that snapped an 11-game losing skid.
Shaquille Culbreath leads the Pioneers this season in both scoring (19.4 ppg) and assists (38), while Cade Niswonger is second on the team in both scoring (14.4 ppg) and assists (30). Hunter Turner is scoring 13.8 ppg and Wyatt Summers has a team-high 5.2 rebounds on the season.
The Series: This will be the first meeting between MACU and Crowley's Ridge since the Evangels became an NAIA school in 2007. This season marks Crowley's Ridge's first season in the NAIA.
The Coaches:
Josh Gamblin is his second season as head coach of the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball program.
In his first season at the helm, Gamblin made a historic, immediate impact. Gamblin guided the Evangels to their first-ever NAIA National Championship, capping off the memorable title run with a thrilling, 100-99 overtime victory over then No. 1-ranked Georgetown (Ky.). In the process, Gamblin become the youngest coach (27 years old) in college basketball history to win a national championship at a four-year institution.
Following the championship triumph, Gamblin was named the 2015-16 Rawlings-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. His character influence was also felt throughout the year, culminating with the program receiving the Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship award at the conclusion of the NAIA National Tournament.
Overall, Gamblin is 38-14 as head coach of the Evangels.
Recently, Gamblin had the privilege of speaking at the Nike Championship Basketball Clinic on the campus of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. Gamblin presented the topic "Covering the Pick and Roll" to attendees and was joined by other premier coaches and players from around the U.S., including coaches Lon Kruger and Sherri Coale from the University of Oklahoma and retired NBA center Swen Nater.
Gamblin came 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.
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.
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 one-year old son Miles.
Chris Perkins is in his 10th season at the helm of the Crowley's Ridge College Pioneers and is the school's all-time winningest coach.
Up Next: The Evangels will host Wayland Baptist University Thursday night (Jan. 12) at 8 pm.
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