BETHANY, Okla. - It had been more than three years since the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team had beaten Southwestern Christian University entering their contest at Pickens-Springer Gymnasium on Thursday night. Thanks to a big second half effort, the Evangels were able to put that streak to bed, and in the process, the Evangels punched their ticket to the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament.
MACU (18-11, 11-10 SAC) out-scored SCU (14-15, 9-12 SAC) 55-36 over the final 24 minutes of the game to rally from a nine-point deficit to take a 10 point win, 76-66.
The teams traded the lead several times in the opening seven minutes of the game, but an 8-0 SCU run that spanned 4:33 of game time helped SCU grab a 16-9 lead with 10:13 to play in the half. The Eagles eventually took a nine point lead twice in the waning moments of the first half, but after a 3-pointer from SCU's David Stinson prompted a timeout from MACU's Josh Gamblin, and that helped turn the momentum.
MACU did not allow another SCU point in the first half, as the Evangels closed the half on an 11-0 run. The Evangels held SCU to 0-for-6 shooting in the final four minutes of the first half, and the Evangels forced a pair of SCU turnovers in that span, as the Evangels attacked the basket to great effect, and they took a 32-30 lead into the locker room.
After SCU cut the deficit to one on a free throw just 1:18 into the second half, Charles Beauregard, Jr. buried a pair of 3-pointers which helped ignite the Dallas, Texas native in the second half. Beauregard scored 18 of his 19 points in the game after halftime, and the MACU offense steadily increased the lead. A 9-0 run late in the game helped MACU open a 66-51 lead with 4:13 to play. SCU tried to claw their way back into the game in the final moments, and the Eagles did close the gap to five with 42 seconds to play, but MACU sealed the game at the foul line - as both Beauregard and Javan Perry sank a pair of charity tosses in the final 30 seconds of play - and Beauregard put an exclamation point on the win with a ferocious slam with seven seconds left in the game to cap the 76-66 win.
Beauregard and Perry each scored 19 in the game to lead all scorers, and Daniel William added 10 points for MACU in the game. Justin Bogle added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, and he added three assists and a pair of steals.
MACU connected on 28 of 57 (49.1%) shots from the field in the game - including 16 of 26 (61.5%) in the second half. The Evangels were 5-for-17 (29.4%) from long range in the game, and at the foul line, MACU was 15-for-20 (75%). As with the overall shooting, the Evangels were better in the second half in both three-point percentage (4-for-8; 50%) and free throw percentage (8-for-10; 80%). MACU dominated the game in the paint, out-scoring SCU 42-18 down low, and MACU also held a 17-10 edge in points off turnovers.
MACU has locked themselves into the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament field with the win, and the Evangels will be either the seven or eight seed in the field. MACU holds a one game lead over Oklahoma Panhandle State University for the seven seed with one game to play, but OPSU holds the tiebreaker over MACU, so the Evangels need either a win or an OPSU loss to secure that seeding spot.
MACU will host Senior Day festivities on Saturday afternoon before their season finale against NAIA #18 Oklahoma City University (18-9, 13-8 SAC). MACU will honor 12 senior members of the MACU men's basketball program in the ceremonies, which will take place between the women's and men's games in the double-header. Tip-off for the men's game will take place at 4 p.m.
