OKLAHOMA CITY – After getting off to a 3-0 start to the regular season, the No. 18 Mid-America Christian men's basketball team will face a challenging exhibition contest at NCAA Division II Drury in Springfield, Mo. at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (3-0) opened the season with a grueling stretch, playing three games in four days, but came out undefeated by the time it was all said and done. The Evangels won their season opener 107-73 over Ecclesia on Friday, Oct. 25 before following it up with a 112-67 victory over Manhattan Christian College on Saturday. The Evangels were challenged by Texas A&M-Texarkana on Monday in its inaugural game, but MACU was able to hold off a late Eagles rally to come out on-top, 91-85.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Drury is coming off back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament after finishing the 2018-19 campaign with a 21-12 record and fifth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with a 13-5 mark in conference play. The Panthers were picked to finish fourth in the GLVC Preseason Poll after receiving 184 votes.
DU returns its top scorer from a season ago in junior guard Conley Garrison. Last season, Garrison averaged 17.5 points per game on 51.8 percent shooting from the floor and made 105-of-241 (43.6 percent) from the three-point arc while also converting on 79 percent of his free throw attempts. The Bolivar, Mo. product finished with a team-high 155 assists and was second on the team with 46 steals, garnering All-GLVC First Team honors.
HISTORY WITH THE PANTHERS
It will be just the second time in program history the Evangels will be taking on Drury. The last time the two teams met was on Nov. 23, 2009, as the Panthers defeated the Evangels 94-72.
THE WRIGHT ANSWER
In his first action with Mid-America Christian, redshirt senior forward Cedric Wright has been an impactful presence for the Evangels in the low post. Through the first three games, Wright has scored in double-figures all three games, averaging 18 pts/g on an incredible 80 percent shooting from the floor. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native has been the Evangels top rebounder through the first three games, averaging 7.3 reb/g while recording five steals and three blocks to lead the team on the defensive end of the court.
GETTING MOORE PRODUCTION
In his first season with Evangels, senior guard D'von Moore has provided a strong presence at the guard position for MACU. Through the first three games, Moore is averaging 12 pts/g on 43.5 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from the three-point arc and 83.3 percent from the foul line. The Statesborg, Ga. product is currently the team's top three-point shooter with six conversions while ranking second on the team with nine assists and four steals. Despite having a cold shooting game against the Eagles on Monday, Moore made his presence felt from the free throw line, converting on 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
SEEKING THE CENTURY MARK
MACU enters Friday's exhibition game as one of the top scoring teams in the NAIA. Through three games, the Evangels are averaging 103.3 pts/g, the 10th best mark through the first week of NAIA competition and the second-best mark among teams to play three or more games. The Evangels are already halfway to equalizing the number of 100-point games they reached last season after reaching the century mark four times during the 2018-19 campaign.
