Shawnee, Okla. The Mid-America Christian University Evangels lost a heartbreaking 50-49 contest tonight (Feb. 23) at the St. Gregory's University Cavaliers in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup at the Sumner Field House in Shawnee, Okla.
The Evangels rallied back from as many as 13 points down in the second half to tie the score at 49-49 with 23 seconds left.
With under five seconds remaining, Rodney Smith was fouled, missed the first but hit the second to give the Cavaliers a one-point lead.
The Evangels then had one last chance, but a three point attempt from Olajuwon Garner in the final seconds was off the mark.
The only lead for MACU came on the first bucket of the night, a three by Garner 1:06 into the game.
SGU then proceeded to score the next 12 points and wound up with a 31-19 lead at the break.
The Evangels used a 10-0 run to come within one and finally caught the Cavaliers on a Malcolm Mann free throw.
It was 48-42 Cavaliers when Mann hit consecutive buckets that was followed by a score from Ex'Zavia Seaton that again made it a one-point game.
Mann then drew a foul and split a pair at the charity stripe to tie the game for the first time since the 18:39 mark of the first half.
The Evangels got back in it by warming up a tick to shoot 34.4 percent (11-of-32) in the second half after shooting only 25 percent (7-of-28) in the opening half.
MACU also held the Cavaliers to only an 18.5 percent (5-of-27) clip in the second half. SGU shot an identical percentage of 34.4 percent (11-of-32) in the first half that the Evangels produced in the second half.
Mann led the Evangels (15-14, 6-11 SAC) with a personal season-high of 17 points and also tied his career-best with nine rebounds.
Garner finished with nine points and Robert Romero scored eight with a team-high three assists.
Jordan Rutherford paced the Cavaliers (10-14, 6-11 SAC) with 16 points, while Zachary Lemusu had a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards.
The Evangels will wrap up the regular season Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25) at home against No. 19-ranked Oklahoma City University at 5 pm inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
Due to the Cavaliers sweeping the season series, MACU now needs a win over OCU and an SGU loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God University Saturday to clinch a berth in the upcoming SAC postseason tourney.
