The Lowdown: USAO @ Mid-America Christian University
Time: Feb. 4 @ 5 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Evangels: The Mid-America Christian University Evangels defeated the No. 9-ranked Texas Wesleyan University Rams 95-92 on a game-winning three by Trey Slate in the final seconds Thursday night (Feb. 2) in Ft. Worth, Texas. The win gives the Evangels a season sweep of the Rams, the current leaders in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
MACU is now 14-9 overall and 5-6 in the SAC following the victory.
Slate's game-winning trey came with five seconds left after the Rams had come all the way back from a 15-point deficit to tie the score with two free throws following a MACU turnover.
The Evangels' biggest lead came on a Devonse Reed three that made it 64-49 with 13:25 remaining in the second half.
Reed allowed the Evangels to withstand the Rams' pushes much of the second half, where he scored 16 of his personal season-high 28 points and hit all five of his three-pointers. His 28 points are just two shy of his career-best total, set last year in the NAIA National Tournament semifinal victory over Campbellsville (Ky).
Olajuwon Garner leads the Evangels in scoring (16.1 ppg) and is first in both the SAC and NAIA with 3.8 threes per game this season. He is also first in the SAC and seventh in the NAIA in three-point percentage (.503).
Reed is second in scoring with 14.7 ppg and Tyler Chaisson is at 12.3 ppg. Ex'Zavia Seaton is pulling down a team-high 8.4 rebounds a game, while Malcolm Mann is second in the SAC and 10th in the NAIA with 5.3 assists per game.
Seaton's rebounds per game is fourth in the SAC and he is also tops in the league and fifth in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (7.26).
As a team, the Evangels are all over the map in the NAIA rankings. MACU is first in both scoring offense per game (92.8 ppg) and threes per game (11.2), fifth in defensive rebounds per game (31.8), sixth in assists per game (18.9), seventh in free-throw percentage (.747) and 10th in three-point percentage (.393).
The Dish on the Drovers: The USAO Drovers are currently 11-11 overall, with a 6-5 mark in the SAC. USAO has won its past two games over Wayland Baptist University and St. Gregory's University.
Taran Buie has been the spark of the Drovers' offense, scoring an NAIA-leading 26.2 points per game while also leading the team with 3.6 assists per game and 54 threes on the season.
Julius Foster is scoring 16.4 ppg, followed by Imani Edwards at 16.3 ppg. Brendan Chapman is also scoring in double-figures at 14.8 ppg and Greg Smith has a team-high 8.5 rebounds.
As a unit, the Drovers are 10th in the NAIA in free-throw percentage (.744).
The Series: The Evangels are 12-7 overall against USAO and have six of the last seven matchups. MACU is also 8-1 vs. the Drovers at home and have won the past seven meetings inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
Conference Positioning: At 5-6 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, the Evangels currently sit seventh in the league. But the Evangels could move all the way up to a five-way tie for fourth place with a win over USAO coupled with losses by Southwestern Christian University and Wayland Baptist University.
The Coaches:
Josh Gamblin is 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 42-18 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.
Chris Francis is in his second season as head coach of the USAO Drovers and has been with the program since 2013. Prior to arriving at USAO, Francis served as an assistant coach at LSU Shreveport, where he helped the program to an NAIA National Championship Fab Four appearance.
Up Next: The Evangels will play at Wayland Baptist University next Thursday night (Feb. 9) at 8 pm in Plainview, Texas. MACU snuck past WBU 100-99 in OT at home in the first meeting this season (Jan. 12).
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