OKLAHOMA CITY - Two of the top offenses in the NAIA met up at the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night with the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team hosted Southwestern Assemblies of God University. As you might expect, the game came down to defense, but what was unexpected was one of the teams was held 30 points below its season average.
MACU (8-3, 1-2 SAC) held SAGU (6-2, 1-2 SAC) to just 38.7% shooting in the game, and only 27.3% from deep, which kept the Lions to a season-low point total and gave MACU the 81-65 win.
Justin Bogle got the Evangels on the board just more than a minute into the game, and the MACU defense held SAGU without a made field goal for the first four minutes of the game. A 3-pointer from Bogle with 15:11 to go in the first half boosted MACU's lead to six, and after SAGU pulled to within one at 12-11, the Evangels rattled off 10 straight points that included buckets from Bogle, Britt Hammons, and Dominick Ford as MACU took a 22-11 lead with 9:17 to play in the opening half. The Lions cut the margin to seven twice in the final moments ofthe first frame, but a buzzer-beating 12 foot bank shot from Ford gave MACU a 35-25 halftime lead. The 25 points in the first half for SAGU was their lowest total in any single half since a 21-point effort against LSU-Alexandria (La.) in November of 2016.
The Evangels opened a 12 point lead on a 3-point bucket from Cade Upshaw with 16:46 to play, but SAGU rallied to close the gap to four points. The Lions put together a 17-9 run to close the gap to 50-46 with 11:47 to go in the game, but MACU answered right back. The Evangels scored the next 11 points to take a 61-46 lead, and they never looked back, methodically bringing home an 81-65 win.
Bogle tied a career-high with 23 points and grabbed nine boards in the game, narrowly missing his third straight double-double. Ford scored 13 points in the game, and he did not miss a shot all night, posting a 5-for-5 effort from the floor and a 3-for-3 night from the charity stripe. Britt Hammons added 12 points, and three players - Upshaw, Anthony Black, and Charles Beauregard, Jr. had nine tallies apiece.
MACU made 29 of 62 (46.8%) from the floor, and they were 8-for-23 (34.8%) from long range. At the foul line, MACU made 15 of 20 (75%) attempts. The Evangels also out-rebounded the Lions 39-33.
MACU will close their first semester Sooner Athletic Conference schedule with a tilt on Saturday at Texas Wesleyan University (6-5, 1-2 SAC). The game is schedule to begin at 4 p.m.
