OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 18 Mid-America Christian men's basketball team will look to carry the momentum of its historic start into Sooner Athletic Conference play this weekend as the Evangels will host Langston at the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday, Nov. 21 for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off. MACU will then head to McPherson, Kan. on Saturday, Nov. 23 for a 3:45 p.m. tip against Central Christian in what could potentially be a battle of unbeatens.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (7-0) faced Randall for the second time in a week on Saturday, Nov. 16 and put together a dominant second half to come away with the 104-55 victory against the 2019 NCCAA Division II Consolation Champions. After taking a 13-point lead into the halftime break, the Evangels came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, outscoring the Saints 52-16 while holding RU to just 6-of-36 (16.7 percent) from the field and 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) from the three-point arc. Redshirt senior forward Cedric Wright led five Evangels to double-figures, notching 21 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and a season-best 9-for-11 from the foul line to go with seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Langston makes its way into league action with a 5-1 overall record after coming off a 61-52 win at Haskell (Kan.) last Saturday. The Evangels will be the Lions second opponent this week after facing Northeastern State in an exhibition contest on Tuesday.
LU has struggled on the offensive end, ranking last in the SAC at 73.7 points per game. The Lions are limiting their opponents to just 69 points per contest, but are giving up a league-worst defensive field goal percentage at .422.
The Lions are led by senior guard Alfonzo Anderson, who is scoring a team-best 16.2 ppg on 45.8 percent shooting while converting on 82.8 percent from the foul line. The Newark, N.J. product is also the team's top rebounder, ripping down 7.8 boards per game while also leading the defensive efforts with nine steals and three blocks.
Senior point guard Keeto Browne will look to command the offense with a team-best 15 assists (2.5 assists per game).
HISTORY WITH THE LIONS
The Evangels are 7-1 against Langston in the NAIA era and swept both matchups last season during the Lions' first year in the Sooner Athletic Conference. On Jan. 17, the Evangels went into Langston, Okla. and came away with an 88-79 victory and completed the sweep on Feb. 9 with an 86-77 win at the Gaulke Activity Center. In their last win, Dominick Ford narrowly missed a double-double, tallying 13 points and nine rebounds.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Central Christian is off to a strong start to the season as they enter conference play with a perfect 6-0 record. The Tigers are coming off a dominant 117-51 victory over Manhattan Christian College after pulling out an 82-67 win over Haskell on Thursday.
The Tigers are right behind the Evangels in scoring offense, ranking third in the SAC at 91.5 ppg while ranking third in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 66 per contest. The Tigers have been ferocious on the defensive end, limiting the opposition to a league-best 35.6 percent shooting.
The balanced CCC offense is led by junior guard T.J. Williams, scoring 16.2 ppg on 51.5 percent from the floor and a blistering 92 percent from the charity stripe. On top of being a prolific scorer, Williams is also instrumental in the offense by dishing out a team-high 27 assists for 4.5 apg. Junior forward Darrell Bryant is the team's leading rebounder at 8.5 rpg while freshman guard Andy Pompa provides a defensive spark with 13 steals at a 2.2 steals per game clip.
HISTORY WITH THE TIGERS
Mid-America Christian is 10-1 against the Tigers since 2003 and pose a perfect 7-0 record during the NAIA era. However, Central Christian has provided the Evangels a challenge the last few seasons as MACU escaped with an 81-78 win over the Tigers in their last meeting at the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 7. In their previous meeting in McPherson, the Evangels got off to a strong start, taking a 50-33 lead into the halftime break to eventually hold on for a 73-62 victory.
CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER
Redshirt senior forward Cedric Wright has been entertaining to watch for Evangels fans as he enters this weekend as one of the nation's top shooters. The big man from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. not only leads MACU with a 17.1 ppg scoring average, but he ranks third in all of the NAIA with a 77 percent shooting clip. Entering last Saturday's matchup against Randall, Wright was struggling to find a groove from the free throw line, only converting on 51.5 percent of his attempts. However, Wright is hoping to have turned over a new leaf at the line after converting 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe against the Saints.
BENCH VERSUS STARTERS
Few teams in the nation sport a bench as deep as the Evangels as MACU continues to get high quality production from its reserves. In their last win over the Saints, the Evangels bench outscored the entire Saints lineup with 57 points to just 55 for the entire Randall team. Two staples off the MACU bench this season have been junior guard Terrance Jones and senior guard D'von Moore. Jones is the squad's third-leading scorer at 13.7 ppg and after having a rough game with just two points at Randall on Nov. 9, the Dallas, Texas native responded with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting with six rebounds in their second go-around on Saturday. Moore faced a similar predicament after notching just two points in the first matchup against Randall. The Statesboro, Ga. product has found his stroke in the last two games, averaging 17.5 ppg on 50-percent shooting beyond the arc.
