OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off a season that saw the Mid-America Christian men's basketball team advance to just the program's second ever Sooner Athletic Conference Championship game and earn its fourth straight bid to the NAIA Tournament, the Evangels were selected to finish third in the SAC Preseason Poll, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
The poll was voted upon the by the league's 12 head coaches with each coach being granted a first-place votes.
The Evangels received 96 points in the poll, placing five ahead of Texas Wesleyan (91) in fourth and John Brown came in fifth with 90 points.
Southwestern Assemblies of God was picked to win the conference regular season title for the second straight year, garnering 116 points and nine of the 12 first-place votes. Science & Arts came in second at 106 points and received one first-place vote.
Rounding out the bottom half of the ranking was Wayland Baptist (59), Southwestern Christian (57), Oklahoma City (54), Central Christian (44), Oklahoma Panhandle State (42), Langston (22) and UNT-Dallas (15).
Last season, Mid-America Christian wrapped up the COVID-19 impacted campaign with a 12-5 overall record and went 5-2 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. The Evangels went on a strong run late in the season, picking up a 70-66 win over Texas Wesleyan in the SAC Quarterfinal on Feb. 24 before stunning top-seeded and No. 8 Southwestern Assemblies of God 94-91 in the SAC Semis to advance to the title tilt.
After being selected to the NAIA Tournament, the Evangels came away with a 69-63 victory over Holy Cross (Ind.) on Mar. 12 in the opening round before dropping a hard-fought 85-75 decision to No. 1 seed and nationally second-ranked William Penn (Iowa) in the second round on Mar. 13.
The Evangels bring back their top four scorers from a season ago, headlined by senior combo guard/forward Terrance Jones. The NAIA Third Team All-American was the team's top scorer at 17.4 points per game on a 43.8 percent shooting clip to go with 8.3 rebounds per game, notching 22 assists and 15 steals in the process.
Leading the point for the third straight year will be two-time All-SAC Honorable Mention Tony Dorsey. The 6-0 guard from Shreveport, La. had a strong return in the spring after suffering a meniscus tear in the fall, averaging 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Dorsey was not just one of the team's offensive leaders, but is a tenacious on-ball defender for the Evangels as well.
Senior guard Omar Boone will be looking to return with the same energy after competing in the first seven games during the 2020-21 season, as he was second on the team in scoring at 15 ppg on a blistering 57.4 shooting percentage, 51.6 three-point percentage and 86.4 free throw clip. Boone was also a catalyst for his teammates, ending the season with a team-high 29 assists, averaging 4.1 assists per contest.
Jasiah Lewis will also look to contribute offensively once again after averaging 9.4 ppg in his first season with the Evangels while Toni Kumanovic, Caleb Riggs and Carlos Slaughter will be looking to provide strong depth for MACU this season.
Mid-America Christian has a highly touted incoming class, headlined by senior guard Isaiah Hammons. A few seasons ago at NCAA Division II UT-Permian Basin, Hammons finished sixth in the highly acclaimed Lone Star Conference with 43 steals while averaging 9.2 ppg on the offensive end.
The Evangels will also be looking for strong contributions out of redshirt freshman combo guard/forward Eylan Goodwyn, who was an NJCAA All-American last season, averaging 18.6 ppg while knocking down an incredible 56.9 percent from the three-point arc.
NCAA Division II Cameron transfer Kendall Scott will also be looking to make an impact alongside freshman forward Quentin Woodson at the forward position for the Evangels this season as well.
Mid-America Christian will be tipping off the season on Saturday as the Evangels host Ozark Christian (Mo.) inside the Gaulke Activity Center for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
