OKLAHOMA CITY – With just under 14 minutes to play in the first half of their game on Saturday afternoon, the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team led Oklahoma Panhandle State University by just a single point. That is when freshman Calon Woodson stepped in front of a pass and set the tone for the afternoon.
Woodson stole a pass from OPSU's Jace Kerr and raced in to dunk it in the face of Kerr, the first of several dunks for the Evangels in the game, as MACU (17-10, 11-8 SAC) rolled over OPSU (11-15, 4-14 SAC) 104-85.
OPSU led briefly in the early going, and they held the lead just moments after Woodson's dunk, but the Evangels wrestled control of the game from the Aggies in the middle stages of the first half. MACU scored 10 straight points in just less than two minutes, and they eventually ran their run to 16-3 to take a 30-19 lead on a 3-pointer from Cade Upshaw with 7:50 to go in the half. The Aggies closed the gap too 30-24, but MACU answered back, stretching their lead to as many as 17 before taking a 53-39 lead into the locker room at intermission. The Evangels quickly pushed their lead to 23 early in the second stanza, and MACU led by as many as 25 in the second half on their way to a 104-85 victory.
Upshaw led the Evangels with a season-high 20 points, Chinua Massena chipped in 18 tallies, and Jordan Rhodes added 17. Keyshawn Perkins was the fourth MACU player to score in double figures; he had 10 points to go along with six rebounds and seven assists. Zach Sawyer narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and a game high 11 rebounds. MACU knocked down 40-of-82 (48.8%) shots in the game, including 14-of-39 from long range. MACU did not get to the foul line often, but when they did, they were successful, making 10-of-13 (76.9%) from the foul line.
MACU will be back in action next week on Saturday tilt with a tilt against Southwestern Christian University (16-12, 9-9 SAC). Senior day will feature Senior Night festivities between the games. Tip-off of the SCU game is slated for 5 p.m.
