OKLAHOMA CITY – As the calendar turned from fall to winter sports for Mid-America Christian University, the anticipation was for another successful season for both the men's and women's basketball teams. The seasons' trajectories were nearly opposite, but at the end of the day, both teams found themselves playing in National Tournaments and one broke out the scissors and cut down the nets as champions.
The season got underway on October 27th with a double-header sweep of Manhattan Christian College, and the next day, both MACU teams were again in action, but in different places. Hannah Moeller and the MACU women stayed at home and picked up a win over Bethel College (Kan.) while the men, led by Josh Gamblin headed to nearby Moore, Oklahoma to battle the Randall University Saints. The Evangels dropped a heartbreaker to the Saints 67-66, and after another tough road loss at Lindenwood University-Belleville, Gamblin and the Evangels returned home and righted the ship.
A pair of dominating wins over Northern New Mexico College and Ecclesia College helped launch MACU on an eight-game winning streak to end the 2017 portion of the schedule with MACU holding a #12 ranking in the NAIA and a 9-2 record. Included in that stretch was a 77-70 home win over Oklahoma City University and a road win over defending NAIA Division I National Champion Texas Wesleyan University.
On the women's side, MACU had some first half ups and downs. They played well in spurts, earning convincing wins over a pair of teams from the Heart of America Athletic Conference – Graceland University and Grand View University – but they also took a pair of tough home losses, and at the end of the first semester, coach Moeller's club sat at 7-4.
As the second semester got underway for Gamblin and the men, the Evangels scuffled as they tried to integrate a pair of new faces into the lineup. MACU dropped their first four games on the road in 2018, and despite a home win over Bacone College and a road win at John Brown University, the Evangels limped into February.
As the season's final full month began, however, MACU began to find their stride. MACU won their first four home games of the month, including upset wins over NAIA #7 Science & Arts and Wayland Baptist University – the latter win coming on a three-pointer from Andre Horne in the final seconds of the game. The wins kept MACU alive for a home game in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, but Horne was lost for the Evangels' senior night in the game against Oklahoma Panhandle State – which MACU won 104-85 – and a tough loss sent MACU onto the road in the SAC quarterfinal round.
The Evangels battled fiercely in the SAC quarterfinal at Oklahoma City, nearly erasing a 20-point halftime deficit before falling to the Stars 66-63. The loss sent MACU to the NCCAA Regional Tournament where they outlasted the tournament host Central Christian College (Kan.) 72-71 to earn a place in the regional championship game. Despite a one-point loss to the College of the Ozarks in the regional title tilt, the Evangels advanced to the NCCAA National Championship where they earned a fifth place finish, winning their final two games of the season to finish the year with a 21-14 record.
On the women's side, MACU was also adjusting to some new roles after some roster shuffling at the break. The Lady Evangels took a pair of tough losses on a western road trip, but beginning on January 15, MACU went on a tear that proved to be foreshadowing for what was to come.
MACU took an upset road win in Chickasha, Oklahoma over USAO, and that started the Lady Evangels on a six game winning streak. Chelseah Savage took over as the floor general for MACU and during that stretch, the team began to firmly establish roles that proved beneficial as the season wound down. While sophomore Alexis Shannon continued to lead the Lady Evangels' offense, Savage and Jessica Fairley took more active scoring roles in the final two months of the season, and MACU headed into the postseason as the fourth seed in the SAC Tournament, hosting the John Brown University Golden Eagles in the conference quarterfinals. MACU lost that game, but they proceeded on into the NCCAA postseason with a ton of momentum on their side.
MACU finished as the NCCAA Central Region runners-up, but they headed into the National Championship as the tournament's top seed. The Lady Evangels dispatched with Yellowstone Christian College in their quarterfinal game with a lopsided 85-45 win which set up a rematch of the 2017 semifinal against Emmanuel College. In a departure from the norm, MACU played only six players in the game, but four of them scored in double-figures, led by 25 from Shannon, as MACU avenged their defeat from the previous season and sent themselves into the championship game against Concordia University from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The championship game was a strange one, statistically, for the Lady Evangels. They made fewer shots than Concordia, shot a lower percentage, and they had only seven assists, but a suffocating defense – which forced 18 turnovers in the game – and a 27-for-36 performance from the charity stripe helped lift MACU to the National Title with a 71-60 win.
The Lady Evangels racked up four NCCAA National Awards during the season. Shannon was named a First Team NCCAA All-American, and Moeller was named the NCCAA Division I women's basketball Coach of the Year. Savage earned Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, and Ossyana Ozoani earned a place on the All-Tournament team.
Shannon also earned All-SAC First Team honors, and she was an Honorable Mention for NAIA All-America status. She was also named as the SAC Newcomer of the Year, and Savage was honorable Mention All-SAC.
On the men's side, Horne earned a place on the NCCAA All-Tournament Team, and he and Therence Mayimba were Honorable Mention All-SAC. Jordan Rhodes was named to the Second Team All-SAC, and Keyshawn Perkins earned a place on the All-SAC Third Team.
As the year entered its final season, the MACU spring teams were already in action by the conclusion of the basketball seasons, and the spring teams experienced their share of success. Those stories and the conclusion of the year are still to come as the Year in Review continues in our final installment.
