MCPHERSON, Kan. - To put together a winning streak in most sports, a team needs to be able to rely on their defense. In the second half of their game on Saturday, the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team was able to do that as the Evangels ran their win streak to four games.
MACU (12-6, 5-5 SAC) built a 23-point first half lead, and the Evangels' defense held the Central Christian College Tigers (9-9, 3-8 SAC) in check for the final 20 minutes ti help MACU take the win, 72-63.
Anthony Black and Andrew Epps traded 3-point buckets on their teams' opening possessions, but MACU took control from there. The Evangels ran off seven straight points to take a 10-3 lead, and their advantage reached 10 moments later when a bucket from Zach Sawyer put MACU up 15-5. Another 7-0 run that spanned just 1:11 pushed MACU's lead to 36-21 with 7:37 to play in the half. A basket from Daniel William with 4:53 to play in the half pushed MACU's lead to 23 - the largest margin of the half - and MACU took a 50-33 lead into the locker room at the break.
An early 3-pointer from Justin Bogle gave MACU a 53-35 advantage with 18:47 to play in the game, but CCCK began to whittle away at the margin. The Tigers put together a 7-0 run to trim the MACU lead to 11, but the Evangels were able to stabilize the lead, and the MACU defense helped the Evangels bleed the clock. The Tigers did put together one final 7-0 run to pull within seven at 60-53 with 9:48 to go, but MACU held CCCK to 3-for-13 shooting in the final minutes of the game, and the Evangels took the win 72-63.
Black led the Evangels with 15 points in the game, and he was joined in double figures by Charles Beauregard, Jr. (12), Khalil Thompson (11), and Javan Perry (10). Bogle finished with a team-leading six rebounds, Thompson notched three assists, Beauregard, Jr. had three steals, and Daniel William recorded a pair of blocked shots.
As a team, MACU made 24 of 46 (52.2%) shots from the floor, which included a 12-for024 (50%) performance from deep. The Evangels were also 13-for-15 (86.7%) from the charity stripe in the game. MACU out-rebounded CCCK 31-24, and the Evangels dominated the battle of the benches, posting a 42-7 edge in scoring from substitutes.
MACU will return home on Thursday night to open the second half of the double round robin SAC slate when they host NAIA #14 Wayland Baptist (14-5, 9-2 SAC). The game is scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m.
