OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian men's basketball team faced a tough battle against Texas Wesleyan on Thursday night inside the Gaulke Activity Center, however, the Evangels struggles to start Sooner Athletic Conference play continued as MACU fell 78-73 to the Rams in overtime.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Tony Dorsey – 17 Points, 6-12 FG, 4-4 FT, 3 Reb, 3 Assists, 3 Steals
• Isaiah Hammons – 17 Points, 5-12 FG, 6-7 FT, 7 Reb, 4 Assists, 3 Steals
• Caleb Riggs – 14 Points, 4 Reb, 2 Assists

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian got off to a sensational start by scoring the first eight points as a Tony Dorsey layup followed by three-pointers from Caleb Riggs and Dorsey made it an 8-0 game with 18:09 remaining.
  • Both teams struggled offensively over the next three minutes before Texas Wesleyan rattled off seven unanswered as Vydal Bradford's layup with 13:26 left closed it to a 9-8 game.
  • Quentin Woodson's tip-in pushed the MACU lead back out to three, but the Rams streaked out in-front off of layups from Peyton Sallee and Davon Berry, bringing it to a 12-11 contest with 12:20 to go.
  • The next five minutes were tightly contested as the lead changed places three times with three ties before a Riggs three gave MACU a 20-17 edge with 7:25 on the clock.
  • Texas Wesleyan was able to take advantage of an Evangels foul and technical with 4:37 remaining as Sallee was able to convert three of four free throws before Bradford buried a three just 26 seconds later to give the Rams a 29-25 cushion.
  • In the final minute, the two teams swapped scores on layups from Dorsey and Sallee before Jasiah Lewis buried a jumper with 15 seconds left to make it 31-29. However, the Rams were able to take the momentum into the locker room as Matthias Nero was able to get a layup to go just before the buzzer to send TWU into the half with a 33-29 edge.
• Second Half
  • MACU pulled it to within three at 35-32 in the first minute of the half as Isaiah Hammons knocked down a three following a Sallee layup.
  • Texas Wesleyan slowly built its lead out to as much as 11 following a pair of Sallee free throws, setting the score to 48-37 with 13:21 to go.
  • A Hammons and-one on the following possession reignited the Evangels offense as MACU slowly chipped the lead down to one possession on another Hammons lay-in with 7:51 left to make it 52-49.
  • After a pair of Davon Berry free throws, Mid-America Christian surged out in-front as Dorsey's free throws with 5:12 to go gave the Evangels a 56-55 edge, its first lead since it was 24-23 with 4:46 left in the first half.
  • The next few minutes were once again a back-and-forth battle with three ties and two lead changes, but a Riggs three followed by a Carlos Slaughter lay-in with 1:12 left gave the Evangels the 67-62 advantage.
  • Texas Wesleyan finished the half strong by outscoring the Evangels 5-0, as Berry's tightly contested layup with nine seconds left drew it even.
  • MACU had a chance to get the win on the final possession, but Dorsey's three from the right side fell just short, sending the game to overtime.
• Overtime
  • Scoring came at a premium through the first three minutes as both teams were only able to muster four points as Omar Boone's fastbreak layup with 1:42 left tied it up at 71.
  • Sallee came up clutch for the Rams, draining threes on each of the next two TWU possessions to give Texas Wesleyan a 77-71 edge with 34 seconds left.
  • The Rams held the Evangels to just two free throws the rest of the way to hand MACU the 78-73 defeat.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian struggled on the offensive end, mustering just 24-for-66 (36.4 percent) from the field and 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from three. Texas Wesleyan finished the contest 27-of-58 (46.6 percent) and was 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
• In a game that featured 47 total fouls, the Evangels were able to take better advantage of its opportunities from the foul line by going 19-of-26 (73.1 percent) while Texas Wesleyan converted just 19-for-35 (54.3 percent).
• After not scoring a single point in the first half, Isaiah Hammons helped lead the Evangels comeback charge in the second half with 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting and went 6-for-7 from the foul line while also finishing with a team-high seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• Tony Dorsey also turned in 17 points on 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Dorsey also turned in three rebounds, three assists and three steals on the defensive end.
• Caleb Riggs was the lone other Evangel to crack double-figures with 14 points while Quentin Woodson continued to be a spark off the bench with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and 2-of-2 free throws to go with six boards.
• With the defeat, Mid-America Christian fell to 7-4 on the season and dropped its third straight Sooner Athletic Conference game for an 0-3 start to SAC play. Texas Wesleyan improved to 7-2 and 2-1 against conference competition.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian faces another challenging task on Saturday as the Evangels will head down to Chickasha, Okla. to take on No. 12 Science & Arts. Tip-off is slated for 3:45 p.m. inside the Drover Fieldhouse.