OKLAHOMA CITY - With nearly nothing decided entering the season's final day, the Mid-America Christian University men's basketball team took the floor after honoring 12 seniors in their Senior Day ceremony between games of their double-header with Oklahoma City University. The Evangels and Stars battled closely through the first half of the game, but after halftime, MACU took control and finished the season on a positive note.
MACU (19-11, 12-10 SAC) got to the foul line early and often in the final 20 minutes of the game, turning a 36-36 halftime tie into an 80-70 win over OCU (18-10, 13-9 SAC). The win, coupled with a Wayland Baptist University win over Southwestern Assemblies of God University, elevated MACU to the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Sooner Athletic Conference tournament.
Neither team held a lead of more than one possession until nearly half of the opening 20 minutes had ticked off the clock. The lead changed hands six times, and the score was tied on seven occasions, in the opening nine minutes, and it was not until Chris Williams scored for OCU with 10:30 to go in the opening half that the lead reached two possessions, as that basket gave OCU a 25-20 lead. OCU's lead reached as many as six points several times in the opening frame, but MACU rallied late. The Evangels used a 12-4 run, capped off by a corner 3-ball from Anthony Black with 33 seconds left in the quarter that gave MACU a 36-34 lead, and at the half, the game was tied at 36.
Black and Justin Bogle combined to connect on three 3-pointers in the first 2:30 of the second half to help MACU open the stanza on a 9-0 run, and while OCU did rally to tie the game, the tone had been set for the half. A made free throw from Dominick Ford with 9:38 to play gave MACU a 62-52 lead, but OCU chipped away. The Stars eventually clawed their way back to within three points at 70-67 with 4:56 to go in the game, but MACU locked down the Stars defensively in the final moments. The Evangels held OCU to 1-for-6 shooting in their final 10 posessions, and the Evangels forced a pair of turnovers in that same span, as MACU closed the game on a 10-3 run to take the 80-70 win.
Black finished with 21 points, tying for the game high total, and he was joined in double-figures by MACU's Charles Beauregard, Jr. (19), and Britt Hammons (10). Beauregard, Jr. grabbed a team-best seven rebounds, and Black had three assists in the game.
MACU connected of 25 of 52 (48.1%) shots in the game, and nine of 25 (36%) from long distance. MACU was 21-for-28 (75%) from the foul line, including a 15-for-20 second half.
MACU will begin the postseason on the road as the No. 6 seed in the SAC tournament, and that means MACU will play the quarterfinal game at the No. 3 Seed, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (20-9). The Drovers are also hosting a women's quarterfinal game, which means the men's game wil not tip-off until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26.
