OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 2 Mid-America Christian men's basketball team put together one of its best defensive performances since moving up to the NAIA level in 2007 with a 103-45 victory over Ecclesia (Ark.) on Thursday night in the Gaulke Activity Center.

The 45 points allowed was the fewest the Evangels have given up in a single game since joining the NAIA, holding an opponent to fewer than 50 points for the first time since picking up a 65-49 win over Friends (Kan.) on Nov. 11, 2014. The 58-point margin of victory was also MACU's second largest in the same time frame, sitting only behind the Evangels' 71-point margin set in a 127-56 win over Kansas Christian on Nov. 22, 2016.

 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Omar Boone – 27 PTS, 9-12 FG, 3-6 3FG, 6-6 FT, 4 AST, 3 STL
• Terrance Jones – 13 PTS, 5-12 FG, 11 REB, 4 AST, 2 BLK
• Malik Malone – 11 PTS, 6 REB, 3 BLK, 2 AST
• Dominick Ford – 8 PTS, 3-4 FG, 10 REB, 2 AST

 

GAME SUMMARY

• 1^st Half
  • Ecclesia (0-3) managed to keep the game close in the early going with a Zachary McGee three-pointer closing the MACU lead to 12-10 with 13:55 remaining.
  • Just like in the Randall game two nights prior, Mid-America Christian (3-0) pulled away behind a big run ignited by Omar Boone, scoring eight straight points during a 10 unanswered streak, capped on a Terrance Jones bucket with 12:12 to go to increase the Evangels' edge to 22-10.
  • With MACU leading by 11 with just under eight minutes to go, the Evangels utilized another strong surge behind a Boone three-point play and back-to-back three-pointers drained by Boone and Jones, swelling the Mid-America Christian advantage to 36-16 with 7:10 left.
  • After EC's Oswaldo Terrazas briefly stopped the run with a bucket, it wasn't enough to thwart Mid-America Christian as the Evangels pulled away on a string of 20 straight points and preventing the Royals from scoring over a 5:40 stretch. A Dominick Ford layup capped the run at 56-18 with 2:01 on the clock before Ecclesia finally stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws with 1:10 left.
  • Ford sent the Evangels into the break with a 58-20 advantage by knocking down a layup with nine seconds to go and forcing Ecclesia into missing a contested three at the buzzer.
• 2^nd Half
  • Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm to start the second half with each scoring just six points in the first four minutes.
  • A Jasiah Lewis three-pointer with 14:16 left rekindled the offense for both teams, as MACU steadily built a 51-point advantage with a 22-11 run over a five-minute stretch, finished off on a Boone layup to bring the score to 88-37 with 9:22 to go.
  • Ecclesia could only manage to bring the deficit to under 50 on a pair of occasions before the Evangels scored the final five points, capped on a Blaize Driskill three-point bomb with 22 seconds left to seal the 103-45 win.

 

GAME NOTES

• While Mid-America Christian fared well by shooting 34-for-77 (44.2 percent) from the floor and 11-for-32 (34.4 percent) from three, the Evangels did a lot of damage from the free throw line, knocking down 24-of-26 (92.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
• The Evangels defense limited Ecclesia to shooting only 15-for-59 (25.4 percent) and 2-for-22 (9.1 percent) from the three-point arc. MACU also forced the Royals into committing 23 turnovers while MACU gave up the ball just eight times in the contest. It was the lowest field goal percentage that the Evangels have held an opponent to since limiting Bacone to just 25 percent shooting in a 97-70 win on Jan. 21, 2017.
• MACU won the rebounding battle by a 56-to-39 margin.
• Omar Boone continued to shoot the ball at a torrid pace, finishing with a season-high 27 points on 9-of-12 from the field, 3-for-6 from the three-point arc and knocked down 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. The Oklahoma City product also made his presence felt as a distributor and a defender, recording four assists to go with a team-high three steals.
• In his second game back, Terrance Jones continued to dominate on the glass, finishing with a double-double with 13 points to go with his 11 rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots.
• Dominick Ford finished just a few points shy of a double-double as well, ripping down 10 boards to go with eight points.
• The Evangels frustrated Zachary McGee, one of the top scorers in the NCCAA coming into the matchup averaging 32 points per game. MACU held McGee to only 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 1-for-6 from the three-point arc.

 

NEXT UP

• With Mid-America Christian's game against Texas Wesleyan on Saturday being canceled, the Evangels will return to play on Monday, Nov. 16 as MACU will head across town to take on Randall (Okla.) for a 7 p.m. tip-off.