Men's Basketball 1/25/2021 10:29:00 AM Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

Men’s Basketball Prepared For Busy Week Of SAC Competition

OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 14 Mid-America Christian men's basketball team will have a busy, challenging week ahead as the Evangels will play three Sooner Athletic Conference games over the next four days.

MACU will open the week with a newly added game against Southwestern Christian on Monday, taking place at the Gaulke Activity Center for a 6 p.m. tip-off. The Evangels will then head to Chickasha, Oklahoma on Tuesday for a 7:45 p.m. rematch against No. 12 Science & Arts. Mid-America Christian will finally close out the week back at home on Thursday it hosts No. 22 John Brown for a 7:45 p.m. tip inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian will be looking to get some revenge on Monday night as they will be facing Southwestern Christian again after dropping an 80-77 overtime heartbreaker in Bethany, Oklahoma in its SAC opener on Jan. 11.

In that contest, the Eagles went on a late 7-0 run in the second half to take a 70-67 lead with just under a minute-and-a-half left, but junior guard/forward Carlos Slaughter buried a clutch three from the left wing with 1:05 remaining to tie the score at 70. Neither team scored over the final minute as MACU had the last opportunity, but Dominick Ford's mid-range jumper at the buzzer sailed long, sending the game into an extra session.

The Evangels struggled to score in the overtime period as a Terrance Jones three-point play with 2:56 on the clock snapped MACU's scoreless streak, closing the gap to 77-76. However, that would be the closest MACU would come as SCU pulled away to eventually hold on for the win.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Southwestern Christian will enter the week with a 4-4 overall record and a 3-2 mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play. The Eagles are coming off a bounce back win at Langston on Saturday, defeating the Lions by a score of 67-58.

The Eagles are led offensively by senior guard Charles Dickson, who is averaging 17.9 points per game and is coming off a career-high 31-point scoring effort against Langston. Senior guard Khristien White has also been one SCU's top offensive performers, scoring 14.4 ppg on the squad's most efficient shooting percentage of 51.7 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from three.

Senior center York Benjamin is the team's top rebounder at 7.4 boards per game and has tallied 15 blocks this season while Jordan Williams will run the point with a squad-best 39 assists (2.7 apg).

HISTORY WITH THE EAGLES
Mid-America Christian will be seeking revenge on the Eagles after Southwestern Christian snapped MACU's four-game win streak against them back on Jan. 11. In that contest, SCU was able to force overtime and led throughout the entire extra period before holding on for the 80-77 win. Since the 2003-04 season, MACU holds a 23-10 record in the series and are 11-5 inside the Gaulke Activity Center in that stretch.

SCOUTING THE DROVERS
No. 12 Science & Arts enters the week coming off its first loss of the season at Southwestern Assemblies of God, falling 99-82 to drop to 9-1 on the season and 4-1 in SAC play.

The Drovers third-ranked offense in the SAC (89.7 ppg) is spearheaded by senior guards Elvin Rodriguez and Cameron Hines, who are averaging 17.4 and 17.3 ppg respectively. Hines is currently the top three-point shooter in the SAC, knocking down 32-for-69 (46.4 percent) from downtown.

Junior guard/forward Gerrard Makuntae will spearhead the USAO rebounding efforts as he currently leads the league with 85 boards at an 8.5 rpg clip while junior guard Stephon Hall is the leading distributor in the conference with 53 assists at a 5.3 apg average.

Makuntae will look to lead the shot blocking efforts with 20 rejections this season while Hall and Rodriguez led the defensive efforts with 16 steals apiece.

HISTORY WITH THE DROVERS
Even despite falling at home 76-69 in its most recent outing back on Jan. 7, Mid-America Christian still holds a 17-12 edge in the series since their first meeting on Jan. 5, 2008. The last time the two teams met up in Chickasha, the Evangels rallied back from a double-digit deficit to come away with a 98-86 victory inside the USAO Fieldhouse on Dec. 12, 2019.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
After opting out of the fall portion of the 2020-21 season, No. 22 John Brown will make its way into the contest with a 3-3 record both overall and in SAC play after competing in six games during a 12-day stretch. The Golden Eagles dropped their first three games of the season, but have since bounced back, winning three straight and are coming off a 72-67 road win at Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Saturday.

One big factor into JBU's win streak is the return of Luke Harper. After missing the first three games of the season, the junior guard has been the Golden Eagles' top scorer, averaging 19.3 ppg on 48.8 percent shooting and 47.1 percent from three while knocking down a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Densier Carnes has also provided a spark for JBU, scoring at a 15.7 ppg clip while ranking second on the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and leading the team in blocked shots (4). Junior guard Ira Perrier has been one of the team's best all-around performers, leading the squad in rebounding (7.2 rpg), assists (3.8 apg) and steals (19).

HISTORY WITH THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Since joining the NAIA and Sooner Athletic Conference in 2007, John Brown holds a slim 14-13 edge in the all-time series. In last season's meetings, the Evangels defeated JBU 73-59 at the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 4, 2020, but the Golden Eagles were able to capture an 81-74 home victory over the Evangels in Siloam Springs, Arkansas by a score of 81-74 on Jan. 30, 2020.

REVENGE TOUR
While Mid-America Christian has only lost four games in the last 12 months, the Evangels will be looking to get revenge as they will be facing three of the four teams that have defeated them during that stretch. The Evangels fell in overtime to Southwestern Christian 80-77 in their SAC opener inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium on Jan. 11 after suffering their first regular season defeat to Science & Arts by a score of 76-69 on Jan. 7. The loss to the Drovers ended up snapping MACU's 22-game home win streak, it's first since the 2018-19 season. Mid-America Christian will be looking to upend John Brown after the Golden Eagles snapped their NAIA era program record win streak last season, as MACU had won 20 straight heading into that fated Jan. 30, 2020 matchup. However, the Evangels will be looking for similar results against each opponent in each venue, as the last time Mid-America Christian faced Southwestern Christian and John Brown at home and Science & Arts inside the USAO Fieldhouse, it won all three contests.

CHARITABLE PLAYER
Even though MACU lost its SAC opener to the Eagles, one bright spot for Mid-America Christian was the ability of senior forward Terrance Jones to get to the free throw line early and often. In the defeat, Jones attempted the program's NAIA era record 20 free throws, surpassing MACU legend Semar Farris' previous record of 17 set against Northwood (Texas) on Jan. 2, 2014. Jones converted on 14 of those 20 attempts to tie Farris for the second-most in a single game and placing just one back of MACU Player of the Decade Charlie Shorter's record mark of 15 recorded against the Drovers on Jan. 19, 2012.

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