KANSAS CITY, Mo. – While leading Mid-America Christian men's basketball team to one of its best starts in program history, senior guard/forward Ashford Golden was selected to the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List on Wednesday.
In its fifth year, the Clifford "Bevo" Francis Award is issued to the top player from either the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, NSCAA or NCCAA affiliated institution, a group constituting more than 1100 colleges or universities.
Golden is officially the first Mid-America Christian men's basketball player to ever be named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List.
In his lone season with the Evangels, the Central Oklahoma transfer has made an immediate impact. Golden is the team's top scorer, averaging 17.2 points per game while converting on 48.1 percent of his shots, including 43 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 77.4 percent of his foul shots. The Oklahoma City native is also the team's top rebounder at 6.7 rebounds per game as well as shot blocker with 16 on the season.
Golden has already made his marks in the MACU single game record books. After pouring in 39 points on 12-of-15 shooting, including going 7-for-9 from the three-point arc and 8-for-10 from the foul line in a 98-86 victory at Science & Arts on Dec. 13, 2019, Golden tied Charlie Shorter and Angelo Lewis for the fourth-most points scored in a single game during the NAIA era (2007-08 – Present). His seven triples in the contest also tied the fourth-most in a single game during that stretch.
The combo guard/forward followed it up with a 32-point, seven-rebound performance against Bacone College as the Evangels broke the program's NAIA era rebounding record with 60, tied its assist record with 32 and notched the second-most points in the 126-72 win, finishing only behind the 127-56 victory over Kansas Christian on Nov. 22, 2016.
Golden led MACU to a pivotal 103-89 win over then No. 11 LSU Shreveport on Nov. 7, 2019, scoring 23 points while becoming just the third Evangel in the NAIA era to shoot a perfect 10-for-10 or better from the foul line. Golden tied Nick Tate's 10-for-10 mark set against Southwestern Christian on Feb. 20, 2016 and finished behind only Shorter's 15-for-15 set against Science & Arts on Jan. 9, 2012.
After leading MACU to its longest win streak in the NAIA era, the current 15-game win streak is MACU's longest since the 2001-02 season when the Evangels strung together 19 in a row on their way to winning the NCCAA Division II National Championship.
