OKLAHOMA CITY – The Southwestern Christian University Eagles took command early and never trailed in defeating the Mid-America Christian University Evangels 93-74 tonight (Feb. 16) in a Sooner Athletic Conference outing inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Eagles started the game on an 8-0 run behind four points each from Joshua Simmons and Jamal Ray.
MACU climbed within four points on four different occasions in the opening half, but each time the Eagles thwarted the rally and took a 40-31 lead into the break.
Similar to the first half, the Eagles came out strong to begin the second stanza, with Marvin White hitting two threes to help SCU score the first 10 points and take a 19-point lead at the 17:09 mark.
After the Eagles stretched the lead to a game-high 23 points, the Evangels twice crept within 15, with the last time being on a pair of Devonse Reed free throws that made it 77-62 with 4:59 left.
But that's as close as the Evangels would get, as SCU scored the next five points to build the lead back to 20 and put it away.
Reed led the Evangels (14-13, 5-10 SAC) with 16 points and also had three blocks.
Ex'Zavia Seaton scored 10 points and had six rebounds, with Keyshawn Perkins also securing six boards along with a team-high six assists. Malcolm Mann scored eight with five dimes.
Tyler Chaisson also had a career-best three blocks for the Evangels, who swatted a season-high eight shots as a team. It ties the most blocks for MACU in a game since the 2014-15 season.
White sparked the Eagles (17-10, 9-6 SAC) with 26 points, while Simmons produced a double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Shawn Scott just missed a triple-double for SCU with 17 points, 11 assists and eight boards. Ray chipped in with 13 points for the Eagles.
The Eagles did the bulk of their damage inside, holding a 44-34 rebounding edge and outscoring the Evangels 38-22 in the paint and 16-8 in second chance points.
MACU did hold a 24-6 advantage in bench scoring.
The Evangels will next host No. 21-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University Saturday evening (Feb. 18) at 5 pm inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
