OKLAHOMA CITY – As the saying goes, it's not how you start, but how you finish. For the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team, Thursday evening was a textbook example of that maxim.

MACU (8-2, 3-0 SAC) overcame an early 14 point deficit to take an 84-80 win over Southwestern Assemblies of God University (6-2, 1-2 SAC) to run their winning streak to seven games in a row. 

SAGU sprinted out of the gate, building a 21-7 lead in the first 5:07 of the game, but MACU remained poised, and the Evangels began to whittle away at the deficit. MACU cut the margin to single digits with 10:21 to play on a Therence Mayimba basket, and with 6:28 remaining, Jordan Rhodes scored to cut the deficit to seven. Mayimba buried a 3-pointer at the 3:09 mark to trim the deficit to one at 34-33, and on the Evangels next possession, Justin Bogle converted a fast break bucket to give MACU their first lead of the game. Both teams took a three-point lead in the final two minutes of the first half, but it was MACU who held the halftime lead, 42-39.

MACU led for most of the second half, pushing their advantage to as many as eight on a pair of Keyshawn Perkins free throws with 6:15 to play. The Lions had one last charge in them, as SAGU rallied to take a 77-76 lead with 2:27 to go, but the lead was short-lived. Javan Perry – who scored only four points in the game – made two layups in a six point spurt in just over a minute, as MACU took the 85-77 lead on their way to the 84-80 win.

Rhodes led the Evangels with 25 points and eight rebounds. Mayimba added 14 points, and Perkins scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 13 boards. Perry led the way in distributing the ball, dishing out six assists. As a team, MACU connected on 29-of-60 (48.3%) shots in the game, and 6-of-24 (25%) from long distance. MACU was also 20-for-24 (83.3%) from the foul line.

MACU will go for their eighth straight win on Saturday when they head south to Fort Worth, Texas for a battle with Texas Wesleyan University Rams (6-4, 1-2 SAC) at 5 p.m.