OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian University Evangels secured a spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament thanks to an outstanding defensive effort in the second half and defeated the No. 19-ranked Oklahoma City University Stars 73-65 tonight (Feb. 25) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The win, coupled with St. Gregory's losing at Southwestern Assemblies of God, makes the Evangels the eighth seed in the SAC tourney. MACU will play at top-seeded and regular season champion Texas Wesleyan University Tuesday night (Feb. 28) in Ft. Worth, Texas.
The run actually started late in the first half when the Evangels cut a 14-point deficit in half with a 10-3 run to come within 34-27 at the break.
Devante Moore and Keyshawn Perkins each scored five points to fuel the push to end the half.
The Evangels then charged out of the gate and outscored the Stars 13-1 to start the second half that resulted in their first lead of the game and ended with MACU up 40-35 at the 14:22 mark.
Stout defense was the catalyst of the run that changed the game, as the Evangels held the Stars without a field goal for nearly the first eight minutes of the second half.
After a three from Brandon Patten halted the Stars' drought, Ex'Zavia Seaton scored six points to ignite an 8-1 spurt that gave the Evangels a lead of 48-39 with 10:06 left.
Following one free throw from OCU's Jonathan Reed, threes from Perkins and Jordan Rhodes would extend the run to 15-1 and put the Evangels in firm control at 55-40 with 8:30 remaining.
The Evangels maintained a comfortable margin most of the way until a late 7-1 run from the Stars cut the lead to 69-63 with 38 seconds left.
But Olajuwon Garner hit two free throws and Perkins made two of his four attempts at the charity stripe to close out the win for the Evangels.
OCU opened the game with the first seven points, but six points from Jerrick Warren helped the Evangels gain traction and come within 10-8.
The game then briefly went back and forth, with the Stars going on an 8-2 push and then the Evangels answering with seven straight to make it a one-point game of 18-17.
Perkins finished with a career-high 18 points to lead the Evangels (16-4, 7-11 SAC), while Robert Romero scored 13.
Seaton pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds and Malcolm Mann dished out a team-best four assists.
Syrus McDonald and Xavier Smith each scored 15 to lead the Stars (19-9, 10-8 SAC), with Smith also recording a game-high 18 boards. Reed paced OCU with four assists.
With a quick glance toward Tuesday's matchup at Texas Wesleyan in the SAC quarterfinals, the Evangels swept both meetings against the Rams this season by a combined four points. MACU slipped by TWU 91-90 at home and then won on the road, 95-92 on a late three-pointer by Trey Slate.
