SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. - When you get an opportunity to succeed in sports, it is vital to take advantage of that chance. On Saturday afternoon, both the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team, and their senior forward Zach Sawyer, did just that at Bill George Arena.
MACU (10-6, 3-5 SAC) raced out to an early lead, thanks in part to 10 early points from Sawyer, and they were able to stave off a second half rally from John Brown University (12-5, 6-3 SAC).?
Sawyer scored six of MACU's first eight points, and 10 of the first 14, as the Evangels opened the game on a 14-5 run over the first six minutes of the game. Khalil Thompson connected on a 3-pointer with 7:08 to play in the opening half to push MACU's lead to 11, and another 3-ball from Javan Perry helped MACU open a 15-point lead in the final two minutes of the opening half. After Anthony Black and Densier Carnes of JBU traded buckets in the final seconds of the first stanza, MACU carried a 36-25 lead into the locker room.
Five quick points in the second half pulled JBU within five, but MACU answered and a dunk from Daniel William with 16:10 to play in the game that put the Evangels up 43-33. Moments later, JBU again cut the margin to six points, this time at 45-39 with 13:52 to play in the game. This time, however, MACU responded with a 7-0 run to take their largest second half lead at 52-39 on a 3-point play from William.
JBU had one more charge in them, a 16-2 run?that lasted 5:40 and turned a 54-41 MACU lead into a 57-56 JBU advantage, and for the rest of the night, the game was close. JBU took their largest lead of the night with 4:42 to play on a basket from Carnes, but MACU bounced back with four consecutive points to take the lead back at 60-59. The lead changed hands on a pair of free throws on each of the next three possessions, but a 3-point play?from Black gave MACU the lead at 65-63 with 1:12 to play in the game. After a missed 3-pointer from JBU, Black burried the dagger, a long 3-pointer that put MACU up 68-63, and the Evangels sealed the game at the foul line from there, taking the win 71-66.
Black finished tied for the game-high with 19 points, and he was 7-for-8 from the foul line. Sawyer finished the game with a season-high 12 points, and Justin Bogle added 11 tallies. Dominick Ford narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Black also added three assists. MACU made 26 of 56 (46.4%) shots in the game, and 5 of 17 (29.4%) 3-point attempts. At the foul line, MACU was 14-for-17 (82.4%), and the Evangels won the rebounding battle 30-26. MACU's biggest scoring edge came on second chances, where the Evangels out-scored the Golden Eagles 12-4.
The road does not get easier from here, as MACU will be on the road against another ranked team on Thursday night. The Evangels will head to Langston, Oklahoma to take on the NAIA #4 Langston University Lions (14-2, 6-2 SAC) at 8 p.m.
