OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off winning its second Sooner Athletic Conference regular season crown, the Mid-America Christian men's basketball team was selected as the league favorite in the SAC Preseason Poll released on Thursday afternoon.
Voted upon by the league's 11 head coaches, the Evangels earned 96 points in the poll and garnered six of the 11 first place votes. MACU edged out John Brown in the poll, who earned 93 points, which included the other five first place votes.
Mid-America Christian is coming off its winningest season in the NAIA era, completing the 2019-20 campaign with a 30-2 record and went 19-1 against Sooner Athletic Conference competition. Since joining the league in 2007, the Evangels earned their second conference regular season crown and were the first team since Oklahoma Baptist in 2009-10 to lose just one league game.
The Evangels earned their first ever No. 1 seed to the NAIA Tournament, but MACU's opportunity at winning its second national championship was cut short when the tourney was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mid-America Christian won 30 games for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign when the Evangels strung together 32 victories on its way to winning the NCCAA Division II National Championship. MACU also strung together a 20-game win streak to open the season, which was the program's longest since winning 19 in a row on its way to claiming the 2004 NCCAA Division II National Championship.
MACU returns several key pieces from last year's team, including NAIA All-American Honorable Mention and All-SAC Second Team honoree Terrance Jones. Last season, Jones averaged 13.8 points per game on the program's third-highest field goal percentage of players who made at least 100 field goals at 56.7. Jones was also the team's second-most efficient rebounder at 5.8 boards per game while also finishing second in steals (34) and blocked shots (15).
The Evangels also return starting point guard Tony Dorsey, who earned All-SAC Honorable Mention accolades after finishing the season with a team-high 112 assists and 44 steals while averaging 9.1 ppg on the offensive end.
Senior forward Dominick Ford will also look to lead the Evangels as the four-year player is coming off his best season in a MACU uniform, averaging 8.8 ppg on a 46.9 field goal percentage, which also included recording the highest three-point percentage in the program's NAIA era at 49 percent after knocking down 50-of-102 from beyond the arc. Ford was also one of the team's best rebounders, ripping down 181 boards at a 5.7 rpg clip.
Mid-America Christian will also be bringing in some strong talent to this year's lineup, headlined by redshirt junior Malik Malone. At Temple College, Malone averaged 13.3 ppg on a 41.1 shooting percentage, including 35.8 percent from the three-point arc and 75 percent from the foul line.
Junior guard Jasiah Lewis and Derrick Magiya are also expected to make an impact in the Evangels lineup. Spending the last season at SUNY-Sullivan, Lewis dished out 153 assists and averaged 12.4 ppg on one of the top teams in the NJCAA. Magiya comes to MACU from Hesston College, where he averaged 9.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg.
The Evangels will officially tip-off the season on Tuesday, Oct. 27 against Ecclesia (Ark.). Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
