GOODWELL, Okla. – The Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team found themselves in a close game again on the road at Oklahoma Panhandle State University on Thursday night, and as is the case many times in close games, the battle of the boards proved key. Unfortunately for the Evangels, they came up on the short end of that fight for most of the night, and as a result they took their second straight tough loss.
NAIA #12 MACU (10-4, 4-2 SAC) was out-rebounded 52-38 by OPSU (8-4, 3-3 SAC), including 15-2 on the offensive end of the floor, and OPSU took the win 85-80.
The teams split the first 10 points of the game evenly, but back-to-back 3-pointers from the Aggies' Tyler Pate and DK Sumo helped OPSU open an 11-5 lead with 14:29 to play in the first half. Both struggled shooting early, but as the half wore on, the Aggies began to slowly draw away. OPSU pushed the lead to 10 at 17-7 with 11:20 to play, but MACU fought hard to stay in the game. The Evangels closed the gap to four on a 3-pointer from Javan Perry at the 8:45 mark, but again the Aggies pushed the lead to 10 quickly. MACU continued to fight, and as the half wound down, they pulled to within four at 28-24 on a 3-pointer from Andre Horne with 4:50 to play, and at intermission, the gap was five points in favor of OPSU, 40-35.
MACU quickly took the lead in the second half, as Keyshawn Perkins took the ball coast-to-coast for an easy deuce with 18:35 to play to put MACU on top 43-42. After a 3-pointer from OPSU's Tyler Pate, Perkins again found a lane to the bucket for an uncontested layup to tie the score at 45 less than two minutes into the half. The Aggies scored the next six points before a 7-0 MACU run gave the Evangels the lead back. It proved to be the last time in the game that MACU held the advantage. OPSU slowly pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 10 down the stretch before MACU closed the game with five straight points to trim the final margin to 85-80.
Horne led a trio of Evangels in double-figures with a 19-point effort in the game. Perkins added 18 and four assists, while Zach Sawyer posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. As a team, MACU made 29-of-70 (41.4%) shots, including 14-of-37 (37.8%) from deep. The Evangels, however, made only 8-of-13 (61.5%) free throws in the game, and that, along with the rebounding margin proved to be too much to overcome.
MACU must bounce back quickly, as they head to Plainview, Texas and #21 Wayland Baptist University on Saturday afternoon. The Evangels and Pioneers will tip-off at 3 p.m.
