PLAINVIEW, Texas – Making road trips in the Sooner Athletic Conference is always difficult for the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team. Those trips become even more difficult when shots are not falling, and that was the case in the second half on Saturday afternoon.
#12 MACU (10-5, 4-3 SAC) struggled shooting the basketball for most of the afternoon, and as a result, #21 Wayland Baptist University (12-3, 5-2 SAC) took the 75-55 win in a battle of first place teams in the SAC.
It took more than two minutes for either team to score in the first half, and it was MACU's Zach Sawyer who broke the ice with 17:40 to play in the first half. The teams traded the lead twice in the middle stages of the first half, and it remained close until WBU used a 7-0 run to turn a 17-15 lead into a 24-15 advantage with 8:12 to play, but MACU battled back to pull within four at 26-22 with 5:04 to play. As the half wound down, WBU continued to hold a moderate lead, as the Pioneers led by as many as nine, and at the break, WBU led 35-29.
Jordan Rhodes connected on a 3-pointer at 18:57 of the second half to trim the deficit to three, and he scored again just over a minute later to keep that margin at three, but MACU was unable to connect defensive stops and offensive scores. A 6-0 run from WBU pushed the Pioneers' lead to 43-34 with 15:19 to go in the game. MACU trimmed the lead to eight at 47-39 with 11:24 left, but that is when WBU took control. The Pioneers put together a 9-0 run to push their lead to 17, and the Evangels were unable to make significant headway in the final eight minutes. The Pioneers' lead reached 20 with 2:08 left in the game, and WBU cruised home from there, taking the win 75-55.
Rhodes led the Evangels with 16 points in the game, Therence Mayimba scored 14 points and seven rebounds, and Andre Horne added 10 boards in the game. MACU shot 18-for-54 (33.3%) from the floor, and just 8-for-30 (26.7%) from long distance. The Evangels also struggled at the foul line, making only 11-of-21 (52.4%) charity tosses. The Evangels were also out-rebounded 49-27 in the contest.
MACU will wrap up the difficult road trip on Monday night in nearby Chickasha, when they take on the #20 University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma (12-3, 3-3 SAC) at 8 p.m.
