OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 2 Mid-America Christian men's basketball team is preparing for one of its most challenging weeks of the season as the Evangels will play three games in the next five days. MACU will start the week with Science & Arts at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday before heading to Siloam Springs, Ark. on Thursday for one of their toughest road games of the season at No. 10 John Brown, tipping off at 7:45 p.m. MACU will round out the stretch with a 3:45 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 1 against Bacone College inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (19-0) was firmly challenged by a pair of crosstown rivals last week, as Southwestern Christian tested the Evangels on their home court last Thursday. Trailing 89-88 with 2:04 to go, junior guard Terrance Jones laid in the go-ahead bucket. A Carlos Slaughter score and a pair Ashford Golden free throws extended the MACU edge to five before SCU's Derek Dantzler-Fulner's layup made it a one-possession game with 17 seconds left. Tony Dorsey was fouled on the ensuing in-bound play and sealed the 96-91 victory with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds on the clock. Golden led Evangels in double-figures with 21 points and team-high nine rebounds.
In a road win at Oklahoma City, the Evangels trailed by as much as 10 in the first half, but MACU stormed back to take a 39-37 edge into the halftime break thanks to a Dorsey three-pointer on the Evangels' final possession of the half. Trailing by two with 14:15 to go in the second half, D'von Moore caught fire for MACU. After converting a three-point play to put MACU in-front, the senior guard knocked down threes on three straight possessions to stretch the MACU lead to 58-53 with 10:33 to go.
OCU could come no closer than three the rest of the way as the Evangels pulled away over the last few minutes to come out of Abe Lemons Arena with the 89-75 victory. Once again, MACU was balanced in its attack with five players breaking into double-figures, led by Dorsey with a season-high 19 points.
SCOUTING THE DROVERS
Science & Arts enters the week with a 9-10 overall record and are 4-6 against Sooner Athletic Conference competition. Last week, the Drovers pulled out a pair of hard-fought wins, topping Oklahoma City at home 96-90 in overtime before going to Southwestern Christian and coming away with the 102-92 win.
The Drovers are led both offensively and defensively by sophomore guard Stephon Hall, who is scoring at a 16.2 points per game clip while also leading the team with 70 assists and 31 steals. Returning to the lineup earlier this month, senior center Dylan Causwell is the team's second-leading scorer at 15.9 ppg while leading the rebounding efforts at 9.5 rpg.
HISTORY WITH THE DROVERS
Since joining the SAC, Mid-America Christian holds a 16-11 edge over Science & Arts in the series. The Evangels have won three straight, which includes their previous meeting in a 98-86 shootout in Chickasha, Okla. Despite trailing by six at the half, the Evangels found their groove in the second half, thanks largely to Ashford Golden dropping a career-high 39 points to go with 11 rebounds while junior forward Marvin Lowe scored a career-best 21 points on 8-of-8 shooting off the MACU bench.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
No. 10 John Brown is right behind the Evangels in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, posting a 9-1 league record and an 18-2 overall record. The Golden Eagles are coming off a pair of road wins last week, grinding out a 64-56 win at Wayland Baptist on Thursday before cruising to a 94-68 victory at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday.
The sixth-best scoring defense in the nation is led on the offensive end by sophomore guard Luke Harper at 17.5 ppg on a 47.7 percent shooting clip, including knocking down 58 threes on 42.6 percent from behind the arc while also shooting 85.4 percent from the charity stripe. Junior forward Densier Carnes on top of leading JBU on the glass at 9.2 rpg, is also the squad's second-best scorer at 14.4 ppg, shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from three and making 84.5 percent of his foul shots. Along with Harper, Ira Perrier is tied for the team-lead with 49 assists while leading the defensive efforts with 30 steals.
HISTORY WITH THE GOLDEN EAGLES
The two teams have been evenly split during MACU's NAIA era run with both teams winning 13 of the previous 26 matchups. When the two teams matched up back on Jan. 4, Mid-America Christian dominated on the defensive end, limiting the Golden Eagles to just 38.2 percent shooting from the floor and 30.8 percent from three to come away with the 73-59 victory. D'von Moore led MACU with 20 points off the bench, going 6-for-10, including 4-of-8 from three and made 4-of-4 free throw attempts.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Bacone enters the week with an 0-16 overall record. The former SAC squad dropped a pair of road games last week, falling 76-64 at Oklahoma Panhandle State before losing 104-47 at Wayland Baptist on Saturday.
The Warriors are led on the offensive end by 6-5 forward De'Andre Love, averaging 13 ppg while ripping down a team-high 7.3 rpg. Sophomore guard Austin Dean is the team's top distributor with 38 assists while tallying a team-best 20 steals.
HISTORY WITH THE BRAVES
Since 2011, Mid-America Christian is 10-2 against Bacone, including winning the last three matchups. In their previous meeting back on Jan. 2, the Evangels set several NAIA era single game records, including the most rebounds (60), the most assists (32), the most made field goals (50) and the second-most points (126) in the 126-72 victory. Seven Evangels scored in double-figures, led by Golden with 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and went 5-for-9 from three. Dorey's career-high 12 assists is also tied for the third-most assists in a single game during the NAIA era, only behind the 13 set by Semar Farris and Malcolm Mann.
DORSEY'S DOMINANT WEEK
Known more for his passing than his shooting, junior guard Tony Dorsey elevated his offensive game against Southwestern Christian and Oklahoma City. The Shreveport, La. product scored 11 points, on 4-of-8 shooting, including making two of the biggest free throws of the game to seal the 96-91 win over Southwestern Christian. Dorsey followed it up with a 19-point performance at Oklahoma City, tying his season-high on 5-of-10 shooting while converting a season-best 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc.
TRUST IN TWENTY
In the win over Oklahoma City, the Evangels won their 19th straight game. Mid-America Christian is currently on its longest win streak since the 2003-04 season. During that campaign, MACU won 19 consecutive after posting an 11-7 record midway through the season to come away with the NCCAA Division II National Championship in its first year as Mid-America Christian University (previously Mid-America Bible College). The Evangels can surpass the mark with a 20th straight win if they can top Science & Arts on Tuesday.
