OKLAHOMA CITY – Senior forward Ashford Golden led four Evangels to All-NCCAA Central Region honors on Friday after being named the Central Region Player of the Year. Josh Gamblin was tabbed with NCCAA Central Region Coach of the Year honors while Terrance Jones and Cedric Wright also earned All-Region Second Team accolades.
Being selected to the All-NCCAA Central Region First Team, Golden was the only player in the Sooner Athletic Conference to finish in the league's top five in scoring (551, 5th), rebounding (221, 3rd) and blocked shots (33, 2nd). The Oklahoma City native averaged 17.2 ppg while shooting 46.3 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from three and 81.4 percent from the free throw line.
Golden set several NAIA/NCCAA Division I marks in his lone season with the Evangels. His 551 points is the seventh-most in a single season, finishing just 14 points of tying Charlie Shorter for sixth and 33 from Devonse Reed for fifth on MACU's list. Golden's 221 rebounds, 33 blocks and 81.4 percent free throw percentage also set the fifth-best single season marks in the program since moving up to the NCCAA Division I level prior to the start of the 2007-08 season.
The 6-6 forward also set several single game statistical marks over the course of the season, including setting two of the top seven spots on the single scoring list. By scoring a career-high 39 points against Science & Arts on Dec. 13, 2019, Golden tied Shorter and Angelo Lewis for the fourth-best scoring output in a single game. By sinking seven three-pointers in the contest, Golden matched the fifth-most triples in a game.
Golden also notched 37 points against Oklahoma City on Feb. 20, not only setting the seventh-best single game scoring mark, but also tying the third-most threes in a single game with eight, placing just one behind Semar Farris and Olajuwon Gardner in the MACU record books.
In MACU's 103-89 victory over then No. 11 LSU-Shreveport, who finished No. 3 in the NAIA rankings, on Nov. 7, 2019, Golden became just one of three Evangels in the Division I era to finish 10-of-10 from the foul line or better. Golden joined Shorter (15-for-15) and Nick Tate (10-for-10) on that illustrious list.
It is Golden's second postseason honor after earning All-SAC First Team accolades a week ago and was one of just two players in the entire conference to be a unanimous selection.
On top of earning Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Gamblin added one more coaching accolade by also becoming the NCCAA Central Region Coach of the Year.
In his fifth season with the Evangels, Gamblin led MACU to an NAIA/NCAA DI era best record of 30-2 while also guiding MACU to its second ever SAC Championship after finishing the conference slate with a 19-1 mark to become the first league champion to lose just one conference game since Oklahoma Baptist after the 2009-10 season.
Under Gamblin, the Evangels opened the season with a 20-game win streak, the longest streak since MACU rattled off 19 straight on its way to winning the NCCAA Division II National Championship during the 2003-04 campaign.
Jones joined Golden on the All-NCCAA list and was a key player off the bench by ranking second on the team with 428 points, averaging 13.8 ppg while finishing third on the team in rebounding (180), second in steals (34) and second in blocked shots (15).
Jones also put together one of the most prolific shooting seasons in the NAIA/NCCAA DI era, knocking down 56.7 percent of his shots from the field, the third-best clip since 2008. On top of being a great shooter, Jones was effective at getting to the free throw line, closing out the campaign with 108 made free throws while taking a team-high 141 attempts.
On Nov. 3, 2019 at Central Christian, Jones became one of just five Evangels to make 100-percent from the foul line when attempting eight or more free throws, joining Britt Hammons, Shorter, Tate and Golden, who accomplished the feat twice.
Jones was the Evangels leader on the offensive end late in the season, scoring 20 or more points in each of the last five games while knocking down 39-for-66 (59 percent) from the field and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Despite missing nearly half the season due to injury, Wright's impact was heavily felt when he was on the court for MACU. The redshirt senior forward in 19 games averaged 15.2 ppg while knocking down an NAIA/NCCAA DI era program record 71.2 percent of his field goal attempts. His shooting clip was the highest percentage in the NCCAA this season.
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. product also ripped down 106 rebounds in his 19 appearances, averaging 5.6 per contest.
In his first game in an Evangels uniform Wright scored 26 points on 12-of-13 shooting to go with nine rebounds in a 107-73 victory over Ecclesia. Wright poured in a career-high 32 points on a 14-for-16 clip in a 91-81 road victory at Central Christian on Nov. 23, 2019.
Along with Jones, it is Wright's second postseason honor after being selected to the All-SAC Second Team a week ago.
