SAN ANTONIO - Saturday afternoon presented the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team to work on getting better in a unique envorinment. The Evangels did battle with the NCAA D-I University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners in their first exhibition contest of the season, and they played well for long stretches of the game.
MACU notched nine steals, and turned the ball over only 14 times in the game, keeping UTSA (3-6) within a respectable margin for most of the afternoon before falling 104-74.
After UTSA scored the first bucket of the game, but just seconds later, MACU's Daniel William connected on a traditional 3-point play to give MACU a 3-2 lead with 44 seconds elapsed in the game. UTSA answered with a 9-2 spurt to take an 11-5 lead, but MACU battled hard to stay within shouting distance. The Evangels were able to keep the margin within single digits for the first nine minutes of the half, and even after the Roadrunners pushed the lead into the teens, MACU held that deficit stable until the final moments of the half. MACU held a 7-4 halftime edge in points off turnovers, and at intermission, UTSA led the game 56-39.
MACU opened the second half playing well. Cade Upshaw hit a pair of 3-pointers, and a Justin Bogle picked up a steal and a dunk with 15:56 remaining cut the deficit to 65-51. From that point forward, UTSA slowly increased their margin, pulling away to the 104-74 win.
Charles Beauregard, Jr. led the Evangels with 15 points in the game, and he was one of four Evangels in double figures. Bogle and William each finished with 13 in the game, and William Gibbons added 10. Gibbons and Bogle tied for the team lead with six rebounds apiece, and Anthony Black dished out five assists.
As a team, MACU made 27-of-67 (40.3%) shots in the game, 8-of-24 (33.3%) 3-point tries, and 12-of-16 (75%) free throws. The Evangels out-scored the Roadrunners off the bench by a margin of 34-22.
MACU will resume their regular season on Tuesday evening when they open a stretch of four games in seven days to close out the first semester. The run will begin with a date with the three-time defending NCCAA Division II National Champion Randall University Saints (4-7). The Saints - who MACU defeated 87-80 on October 31 - will be playing the second game of a back-to-back, and the Evangels will be looking to avenge a loss at Randall a season ago. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
