OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 2 Mid-America Christian men's basketball team faced a strong challenge from crosstown rival Randall (Okla.), but the Evangels made some clutch shots down the stretch before sealing the game away from the foul line for a 94-83 victory on Tuesday night at the Gaulke Activity Center.
 

TOP PERFORMERS

• Omar Boone – 22 PTS, 8-9 FG, 4-4 3FG, 2 AST, 2 STL
• Marvin Lowe – 13 PTS, 5-7 FG, 6 REB, 2 AST
• Malik Malone – 12 PTS, 4-9 FG, 6 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK

 

GAME SUMMARY

• 1^st Half
  • Mid-America Christian (2-0) struggled to separate through the first five minutes as the two teams changed leads three times and tied twice to bring the score to 10-10 only 5:18 into the contest.
  • Omar Boone caught fire for the Evangels, scoring 15 of MACU's points during an 18-6 run, capping it off on a long triple from the left wing to give Mid-America Christian the 28-16 advantage with 8:55 to go.
  • Randall (0-4) answered back with a 10 unanswered run over the next three minutes to close the gap to 28-26 with 5:50 remaining.
  • The Evangels closed out the half with a 13-6 run, capping it off on a beautiful spin move and layup in the low post by Marvin Lowes with six seconds left to make a 48-36 MACU advantage at the halftime break.
• 2^nd Half
  • Randall opened the second half by scoring 14 of the first 16 points as a Jordan Marshall three from the right side trimmed the Evangels' lead to just one at 51-50 just 4:13 in.
  • Another Marvin Lowe layup with 15:09 on the clock got MACU back into an offensive rhythm, igniting a 20-4 run over the next four minutes to make it a 71-54 game with 11:27 left.
  • The Saints chipped away at the Evangels' edge, as a Boog Lewis three-pointer brought it down to an 85-80 margin with only 2:33 to go.
  • Dominick Ford scored on the ensuing possession off a Damarius Brooks dish before Brooks hit a clutch three-pointer of his own from the left corner off a Lowe kickout with 1:36 to go to increase the MACU advantage to 90-80.
  • The Evangels gave up just three points to the Saints over the final 90 seconds as MACU wrapped up the game from the foul line on a pair of free throw makes from Toni Kumanovic and Ford in the last minute to secure the 94-83 win.

 

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian continued to shoot well from the field, knocking down 32-for-62 (51.6 percent) and after struggling from three in the first half, shot 5-for-10 in the second half to finish 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) for the contest. The Evangels had difficulties getting into a rhythm from the foul line, converting only 21-for-35 (60 percent) for the contest.
• Randall managed to knock down 27-for-57 (47.4 percent) of its shots, but the Evangels were able to contain the Saints' three-point shooting to only 7-of-24 (29.2 percent).
• The Evangels were able to win the rebounding battle by a 44-31 margin, including ripping down 14 offensive boards, but the Saints held a slight margin in the turnover battle at 18-17.
• Omar Boone's 22-point performance was his best with the Evangels and the most points he's scored in his college career since dropping 41 against Murray State College on Jan. 23, 2019 as a member of NOC-Tonkawa.
• Five Evangels scored in double-figures as Marvin Lowe turned in a season-high 13 points, Malik Malone added 12 off the MACU bench while Dominick Ford and Damarius Brooks each finished with 11.
• Senior guard Terrance Jones nearly turned in a double-double despite struggling on the offensive end, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds to go with seven points in his first game of the 2020-21 season.

 

NEXT UP

• Mid-America Christian will have a short turnaround as the Evangels will be back on the court for a matchup against Ecclesia (Ark.) on Thursday, Nov. 12. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the Gaulke Activity Center.