OKLAHOMA CITY – After leading the Evangels to one of its best seasons in program history and putting together a phenomenal senior year in the classroom, Ashford Golden was selected as Mid-America Christian's first ever Sooner Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
The award was voted upon by the league's sports information directors. To be eligible, a student-athlete must have been named either a SAC Academic All-Conference recipient or a SAC Scholar-Athlete while maintaining a level of high performance in his or her respective sport.
"Words cannot describe the impact Ashford (Golden) had on our program," said MACU Head Coach Josh Gamblin. "The man dedicated his heart and soul to our school and our team. He was a leader for us both on and off the court and I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to coach him."
Golden put together one of the best seasons a player has ever had in the NAIA era at Mid-America Christian. A unanimous All-SAC First Team honoree, the local Oklahoma City product was the only player in the conference to finish in the top five in scoring (551, 5th), rebounding (221, 3rd) and blocked shots (33, 2nd).
On top of shooting 46.3 percent from the field, Golden also put together one of the best three-point and free throw shooting seasons in program history. Golden made 69 three-pointers, eighth-most in a single season since joining the SAC in 2007-08 while his 41.6 percent clip ranks as the seventh-best mark in the MACU record book and was the sixth-best clip in the SAC.
From the foul line, Golden knocked down 114 of his free throw attempts, the eighth-most in the NAIA era while his 81.4 percent conversion ranks as the fifth-best clip in the record books and was the sixth-best rate in the SAC for the 2019-20 season.
The Evangels' leader put together the best game of his career in MACU's crucial comeback against Science & Arts on Dec. 13, 2019. After trailing by as much as 14 in the first half, Golden propelled the Evangels to a strong second half comeback, scoring a career-high 39 points to give MACU the 98-86 victory. His 39 points matched Charlie Shorter and Angelo Lewis for the fourth-highest individual scoring game in the last 12 years while his seven made threes was the fifth-most in a single game in that time frame.
In a 99-92 win over Oklahoma City on Feb. 20, Golden once again came up big by scoring 37 points for the seventh-highest mark in the MACU record books. In that contest, Golden knocked down a career-best eight three-pointers to tie Camilo Valencia for the third-most made in a single game in the NAIA era.
As a team, Mid-America Christian closed out the year with a 30-2 overall record and earned its second ever Sooner Athletic Conference title by going 19-1 in league play. The Evangels also locked up the program's fourth trip to the NAIA Tournament and received the team's first ever No. 1 seed before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the conclusion of the season, Golden was named both an NAIA and NCCAA First Team All-American as well as tabbed as the NCCAA Player of the Year, joining Shorter as the second MACU player ever to be named the best player in the NCCAA in the 50-plus year existence of the program.
Golden was also named an Academic All-Sooner Athletic Conference honoree after finishing the 2019-20 academic year with a 4.0 grade-point-average, graduating from Mid-America Christian in May with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Psychology.
