KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the midst of its best start in the NAIA era, the Mid-America Christian men's basketball team received its highest rating in the NAIA Top 25 Poll since the 2016 NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll was released, moving up to No. 3 in the latest poll released on Wednesday.

Through the first month of play, the Evangels are 9-0, including a 2-0 start to Sooner Athletic Conference play after picking up a 92-65 victory over Langston and a 91-81 win at Central Christian to open the conference slate last week.

Mid-America Christian also has a Top 25 win to add to its resume after the Evangels picked up a 103-89 victory over No. 11 LSU Shreveport, a team who has since moved up to No. 6 in the latest poll.

Under fifth year head coach Josh Gamblin. the Evangels are one of the few teams in the nation that not only sport one of the top offenses, ranking eighth in field goal percentage (53.3 percent), but also rank eighth in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 37.6 percent shooting from the floor.

Leading MACU is the nation's top shooter in redshirt senior forward Cedric Wright. The 6-7 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. product is currently shooting at a 78 percent clip from the floor while leading the team at 18 points per game.

Mid-America Christian will be back in-action after the Thanksgiving break as the Evangels will head to Texas A&M-Texarkana for a rematch at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The Evangels and Eagles will face each other once again after MACU defeated TAMUT 91-85 on Oct. 28 in the Gaulke Activity Center.