DALLAS – For a few moments in the extra session in their exhibition game at Dallas Baptist University on Tuesday evening, the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team appeared to have control of a game that they had once trailed by as many as nine in the closing minutes of regulation. The Patriots rallied, however, and the Evangels fell just short.
DBU (8-0) scored 11 of the final 13 points of the extra session, and they survived a foul with two second to play that put MACU (7-2) on the line with a chance to take the lead, clinging to a one-point win, 91-90 in overtime.
MACU raced out to an early 12-0 lead in the first half, as Zach Sawyer, Therence Mayimba, and Javan Perry combined to score all 12 points in the opening 4:15 of the contest. DBU rallied to cut the margin down to a single possession, but MACU held the lead until the 2:32 mark when a JT Harris 3-pointer put the Patriots on top 30-29. The teams traded the lead five times in the final moments of the half, and at intermission, DBU held a slim 36-34 lead.
The game remained tight early in the second half, but with 14:57 left in regulation, Perry knocked down a 3-pointer that sparked an 8-0 MACU run that gave the Evangels the 55-49 lead with 12:41 remaining. The Patriots, however, appeared to take control in the middle stages of the half, rattling off 12 straight points to take a 72-63 lead at the 5:15 mark. MACU, however, had one final charge left in them. The Evangels began to chip away at the lead, and a 7-0 spurt helped MACU close the gap to one point, 77-76, with 1:27 on the clock. The Patriots, however, held onto the lead, and they pushed the margin back to three with a pair of free throws from Chandler Jacobs with just nine seconds to play. That's when MACU's senior point guard Keyshawn Perkins stepped up, nailing a 3-pointer as the clock wound down to tie the game at 81 and send it to overtime.
MACU again jumped out early in the extra session, scoring the first seven points of the extra frame, but DBU answered with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 88 with 51 seconds to go. Perkins gave his team the lead back with 36 seconds to go, but the Patriots got a go-ahead 3-pointer from Jordan Manse to take the 91-90 lead just 14 seconds later. MACU got one last chance as Justin Bogle was fouled with two seconds to play, putting him on the line with a chance to give MACU the victory, but Bogle – shooting just the third free throw of the night for the Evangels – missed the front end of the 1-and-1, and the Patriots secured the rebound to preserve the victory.
MACU had five players in double figures in the contest, led by Bogle's 19-points off the bench. Perkins had 17 points and 11 assists for the double-double, Sawyer had 16 points and eight rebounds, Mayimba scored 15 points, and Cade Upshaw added 14. MACU was out-rebounded 38-31, but the Evangels posted a nearly 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio (25 A, 14 TO) in the game. MACU made 35-of-72 (48.6%) of their shots in the contest, including an impressive 18-for-35 (51.4%) from long range. At the foul line, however, they only attempted three free throws, though they did make 2-of-3 (66.7%).
MACU will return to regular season play on December 14, when they host their third Sooner Athletic Conference game of the season, welcoming the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions (6-1, 1-1 SAC) to the Gaulke Activity Center. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.
