The Lowdown: Mid-America Christian University at No. 11 Texas Wesleyan University
SAC Quarterfinals
Time: Feb. 28 @ 7 p.m.
Location: Sid Richardson Center, Ft. Worth, Texas
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Evangels: The Mid-America Christian University Evangels finished the 2016-17 regular season with a 73-65 victory over No. 19-ranked Oklahoma City University to come in at 16-14 overall and 7-11 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Garner leads the Evangels in scoring (15.1 ppg) and is second in the SAC and third in the NAIA with 3.4 threes per game this season. He is also second in the SAC in three-point percentage (.464). The .464 three-point percentage would rank first all-time in a single-season in school history for the Evangels. Garner has also hit 103 treys overall this year, the most in a single-season as an NAIA school and only four shy of tying the all-time single-season mark.
Devonse Reed is second in scoring with 13.7 ppg and Tyler Chaisson is third at 10.7 ppg. Ex'Zavia Seaton is pulling down a team-high 8.6 rebounds a game, while Malcolm Mann is second in the SAC in the NAIA with 4.9 assists per game.
Seaton's rebounds per game is third in the SAC and he is also tops in the league and fourth in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (7.37).
As a team, the Evangels are all over the map in the NAIA rankings. MACU is tops in threes per game (10.5), fifth in both defensive rebounds per game (31.3) and scoring offense per game (87.6), seventh in assists per game (17.6) and 10th in total rebounds per game (41.3).
The Dish on the Rams: The No. 11-ranked Texas Wesleyan University Rams, the two-time defending SAC regular season champions, are 23-6 overall and 13-5 in the SAC.
Dion Rogers is leading the Rams with 20.0 ppg that is ninth in the NAIA, with Ryan Harris second in scoring with 15.1 ppg. Najeal Young is third in scoring at 14.3 ppg and ranks fifth in the NAIA in field-goal percentage (.569). Jeremy Crane is scoring 12.4 ppg, while Trevon Jeffrey is also averaging double-figure scoring with 11.6 ppg along with a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game. Jeffrey is ninth in the NAIA in offensive rebounds per game (3.1).
Naiel Smith is leading the way with an NAIA-high 7.85 assists per game this season and is second in assist/turnover ratio (3.86).
Overall, the Rams are third in the NAIA in assists per game (19.5), fifth in offensive rebounds per game (13.5), sixth in both total rebounds per game (42.8) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3), seventh in three-point percentage (.391), eighth in total rebound margin (8.3) and 10th in scoring offense per game (86.8).
The Series: The Evangels are 6-2 in the series since Texas Wesleyan joined the SAC in the 2013-14 season. MACU swept the season series this year and has won three of the four meetings against the Rams in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Night of Champions: Tonight's matchup will pit the past three SAC regular season champions, with the Rams winning the last two and the Evangels winning the league title in the 2014-15 season.
The Coaches:
Josh Gamblin is in his second season as head coach of the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball program.
In his first season at the helm, Gamblin made a historic, immediate impact. Gamblin guided the Evangels to their first-ever NAIA National Championship, capping off the memorable title run with a thrilling, 100-99 overtime victory over then No. 1-ranked Georgetown (Ky.). In the process, Gamblin become the youngest coach (27 years old) in college basketball history to win a national championship at a four-year institution.
Following the championship triumph, Gamblin was named the 2015-16 Rawlings-NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. His character influence was also felt throughout the year, culminating with the program receiving the Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Sportsmanship award at the conclusion of the NAIA National Tournament.
Overall, Gamblin is 44-23 as head coach of the Evangels.
Recently, Gamblin had the privilege of speaking at the Nike Championship Basketball Clinic on the campus of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. Gamblin presented the topic "Covering the Pick and Roll" to attendees and was joined by other premier coaches and players from around the U.S., including coaches Lon Kruger and Sherri Coale from the University of Oklahoma and retired NBA center Swen Nater.
Gamblin came to MACU from the University of Oklahoma, where he was a Graduate Assistant Coach under Head Coach Lon Kruger. There he assisted in all practices and logged scout games. Gamblin also worked with coaches on opponent scouting reports for a squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Prior to arriving at OU, Gamblin served two-years at Southwestern Christian University (SCU) as lead Assistant Coach on Head Coach Quinn Wooldridge's staff. Gamblin's duties at SCU involved recruiting, leading film sessions and analyzing opponent's scouting reports.
During the 2011-12 basketball season, Gamblin worked in the NBA as the Intern Video Coordinator for the Los Angeles Clippers under then-Head Coach Vinny Del Negro. Gamblin helped prepare pre-game scouting reports for the Clippers, as well as logging all opponent games and being involved in coaches meetings. His efforts with the Clippers led to the best winning percentage in team history.
Off the court, Gamblin has served as Clippers' All-Star Forward Blake Griffin's Summer Basketball Trainer for the past three seasons. Gamblin helped Griffin prepare for upcoming basketball seasons by working on a number of offensive and defensive drills—specifically pick and roll coverages, low post moves and ball handling drills.
Gamblin's collegiate-athlete experience includes, but not limited to: competed at SCU on the Men's Basketball team from 2007-11; Varsity Captain (twice); named SCU Male Newcomer of the Year in 2008; and selected as Team MVP for the 2011 season. Additional honors include: Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) Honorable-Mention All-America honors in 2010; a Midlands Collegiate Athletic All-Conference selection in 2011; and named "Mr. Southwestern" in 2011, (awarded to the student who exemplifies the values, traditions and spirit of SCU). After the 2011 season, Gamblin received the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete award.
He graduated from SCU in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and is currently enrolled in the IAA Master's program at the University of Oklahoma.
Gamblin and his wife Jennifer live in Oklahoma City with their one-year old son Miles.
Brennen Shingleton is in his fifth season at the helm of Texas Wesleyan University following a 10-year tenure as an assistant coach and later as an associate head coach at TWU. Shingleton has guided the Rams to the past two SAC regular season championships and was named the SAC Coach of the Year last season and the SAC Co-Coach of the Year this year.
Up Next: If the Evangels can secure a third victory over Texas Wesleyan tonight, they will face the winner of fourth-seeded USAO and fifth-seeded Wayland Baptist University in the SAC semifinals on Friday (Mar. 3) at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University.
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