OKLAHOMA CITY - For the second straight games, the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team had a shot to send a game to overtime on their home floor. For the second straight time, that shot came up empty, leading to a gut-wrenching home loss.
MACU (8-6, 1-5 SAC) struggled to shoot the basketball from the floor, and the University of Science and Arts (11-3, 4-2 SAC) came from behind thanks to a barrage of free throws to take the win over the Evangels 80-77.
USAO scored first, but MACU rallied quickly to take the lead. Britt Hammons scored inside with just 1:48 going in the game, and moments later, Hammons scored again to give MACU a 6-3 lead. USAO reclaimed a 5-point lead near the four minute mark of the first half, but a bucket from Justin Bogle with 13:14 left in the period gave MACU a lead they would hold for most of the rest of the night. The MACU lead swelled to 11 on a pair of Cade Upshaw free throws with 3:27 to play, and at the break, MACU held the lead, 43-38.
Anthony Black scored with 19:03 left in the game to give MACU a 48-41 lead, but the Drovers whittled away. USAO paraded to the foul line in the second half, eventually tying the score at 50 with 14:23 to play in the game. A 3-pointer from Zach Sawyer gave MACU the lead back, but the Evangels were unable to get any separation from the Drovers, and the game remained close. The Drovers inched in front with 12:17 to go, but Upshaw buried one of his four 3-pointers with less than nine minutes left on the clock to give MACU the lead back, with 6:25 left, Bogle scored to put MACU up 70-68, and at the 6:02 mark, Hammons connected to give MACU the lead 72-70. In the final moments, though, MACU watched as shots rimmed in and out, and USAO slowly opened a 76-72 lead. Charles Beauregard, Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 76-75 with 2:18 to play, but MACU was unable to get the score tied. USAO missed a pair of foul shots in the final two minutes, but a buzzer-beating attempt from Black went awry, and USAO held on to win 80-77.
Upshaw led the Evangels with 14 points, and Bogle added a double-double with a dozen points and an equal number of rebounds. Beauregard, Jr. also added a dozen points.
MACU made 28 of 71 (39.4%) shots in the game, and 10 of 36 (27.8%) 3-point tries. MACU made 11 of 14 free throws in the game, while USAO connested on 20 of 37 (54.1%) charity tosses.
MACU will be back in action on Thursday night, January 10, when they welcome the Bacone College Warriors (2-10, 0-7 SAC) to the Gaulke Activity Center. The game is slated to tip-off at 8 p.m.
