OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team has had its fair share of close calls in the second half of this Sooner Athletic Conference season. On Tuesday night, they had another one, but unfortunately for MACU, the Evangels came up just short.
MACU (18-12) rallied from a 24-point second half deficit to get within two points of Oklahoma City University (23-7) in the final minute, but MACU's comeback fell just short, losing the game 66-63.
MACU scored first, but OCU answered with an 11-0 run, and they eventually built a 23-4 lead just past the halfway point of the first half. The Stars controlled the first half of play completely, holding MACU to just 16 points and 4-of-23 shooting in the first half of the contest, and at intermission, OCU led 36-16.
A quick 6-2 spurt for OCU to open the second half led to the Stars grabbing a 42-18 lead, but MACU began to battle back. With just less than five minutes elapsed in the half, Keyshawn Perkins picked up a steal and a layup to trim the margin under 20 points at 44-26. A 7-0 MACU run midway through the frame pulled MACU to within 11 at 48-37, and Will Gibbons scored with 7:31 left in the game to cut the deficit to single digits at 53-44. Cade Upshaw buried back-to-back buckets near the five minute mark to cut the deficit to four, and with 3:36 to play, Perkins scored again and suddenly, MACU trailed by only two at 57-55. OCU pushed their lead out to six twice late, but with 58 seconds to go, Daniel William flushed home a dunk to pull MACU to within two at 65-63. MACU forced a miss on OCU's ensuing possession, but MACU was unable to secure the rebound, and OCU's Jonathan Ellis added a free throw to push the gap to three. Gibbons got a look at the tie in the final seconds of the game, but it went begging, and the Stars held on for the win, 66-63.
Upshaw scored a team-leading 16 points in the game, and he was joined in double figures by William (11) and Jordan Rhodes (10). Perkins scored nine points and grabbed a team high seven rebounds, and Chinua Massena added eight points in the loss. MACU overcame the poor shooting start to make 25-of-59 (42.4%) shots in the game, but they made only 5-of-26 (19.2%) from long range. At the foul line, MACU also struggled, going 8-for-16 (50%) for the night.
MACU will now move on to take part in the NCCAA Central Regional Championship, which is slated to take place at Central Christian College (Kan.) from March 7-10. Schedules and brackets have yet to be announced for that event.
