OKLAHOMA CITY – Since dawning the name Mid-America Christian University prior to the start of the 2003-04 season, the Evangels men's basketball program reached new heights on Tuesday night at the Gaulke Activity Center. By pulling away with a 98-70 victory over Science & Arts, MACU won its 20th straight game, setting a new modern era win streak record by eclipsing the previous-best 19-game streak set by the Evangels during their 2004 NCCAA Division II National Championship run.
Junior forward Terrance Jones led a balanced MACU scoring attack with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including knocking down 2-for-2 from three and 3-for-3 from the free throw line to go along with six boards, two assists, two steals and a block.
While both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm through the first 5:36 of the first half as the Evangels held a slim 6-4 edge, Mid-America Christian (20-0, 11-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) managed to gain some momentum. Tony Dorsey buried a pull-up three and Ashford Golden drained a three from the left corner two possessions later off a Dorsey steal to stretch the MACU lead to 12-4 with 13:53 remaining, forcing the Drovers to call a timeout.
Science & Arts (9-11, 4-7 SAC) whittled the Evangels lead to three midway through the half, but Damarius Brooks entered the scoring column with a quick drive down the left lane for a layup to start a 16-4 run. Golden capped the run with a strong post move on the right side of paint, getting the hoop and the harm to extend the Evangels' edge to 36-19.
The closest the Drovers could cut into the deficit was 14 before a Carlos Slaughter layup with a minute left pushed the lead back out to 16.
Mid-America Christian took a 19-point lead into the half when Brooks was fouled going in for a fastbreak layup with two seconds left. After a technical was issued to the USAO bench, Brooks knocked down 3-of-4 free throws to bring the score to 47-28 at the break.
In the opening half, MACU shot 16-for-37 (43.2 percent) from the floor and 5-of-10 from three, while the defense stymied the Drovers into shooting 10-for-34 (29.4 percent), including just 3-of-15 (20 percent) from three-point range. The Evangels also forced the Drovers into committing 11 first half turnovers while committing just three on their end.
USAO had no answer for Slaughter to start the second half, as the forward drained a trio of threes through the first 4:14 to stretch the MACU lead to 57-35.
Despite Science & Arts clawing its way back by outscoring MACU 22-11 over the next 10 minutes to bring the score to 68-57 with 7:28 to go, Mid-America Christian was able to turn the tide in a big way.
The Evangels defense clamped down on the Drovers over the next five minutes, as a pair of free throws from Jones and D'von Moore started a 17-5 run, closed out on another Dorsey three from the right corner off a Moore drive and dish to set the score to 85-62 with 2:16 left to all but end USAO's chances at a comeback.
Mid-America Christian ended the game on an emphatic note as back-to-back Dominick Ford steals led to fastbreak dunks by Golden and Ford himself, while Golden ended the game with a block on USAO's final shot of the game to ice the 98-70 victory.
The Evangels shot slightly better in the second half, knocking down 47.1 percent of their field goal attempts to finish 32-for-71 (45.1 percent) for the game while notching their best three-point shooting performance of the season, going 13-of-25 (52 percent) from behind the arc.
While the Drovers shot slightly better in the second half, USAO could only muster 26-of-75 (34.7 percent) shooting and 9-for-35 (25.7 percent) from three against the stingy MACU defense while committing 21 turnovers to just nine for the Evangels.
Six MACU players broke into double-figures in the contest, as Dorsey notched 16 points on 4-of-11 from the floor, but went 2-for-4 from three and 6-of-8 from the foul line to go with a team-high four assists and four steals. Slaughter put together one of his best offensive performances of the season, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from three while also recording two steals.
Golden finished with his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 12 points to go with a team-high 12 rebounds and two blocks while Brooks also recorded 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Moore rounded out all double-digit scorers with 11, knocking down 3-for-5 from three and sinking a pair from the charity stripe.
With the win, Mid-America Christian is the first team in the NAIA to reach the 20-win plateau during the 2019-20 season.
The Evangels will look to carry its momentum into Siloam Springs, Ark. on Thursday night as MACU will square off in a top 10 showdown with No. 10 John Brown. The matchup is slated for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off inside Bill George Arena.
