OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its men's basketball honors on Friday as senior forward Terrance Jones headlined the Mid-America Christian recipients after being selected a unanimous All-SAC First Team honoree, Damarius Brooks garnered the league's Sportsmanship Award and both Tony Dorsey and Jasiah Lewis were tabbed as Honorable Mention selections.
A 6-5 forward from Dallas, Jones was the catalyst of the Evangels offensively, posting the conference's sixth-highest scoring average (17.4 points per game) while ranking 13th in both field goal percentage (43.8) and free throw percentage (72.8). On top of his scoring prowess, Jones is one of the conference's top rebounders, as his 8.3 boards per game places him third on the SAC list and his 22 assists is the second-most on the team. On-top of what he brings on offense, Jones is an impact player on the defensive end of the court as well as his 15 steals leads the team while his nine blocks is the second-most on the squad.
Jones was one of three Evangels players to claim a SAC Player of the Week award, collecting the honor for Feb. 1-7 after he notched a pair of 20-plus point, 10-rebound double-doubles to lead MACU to a pair of SAC road wins over Southwestern Christian and Oklahoma City. In a come-from-behind 75-73 win at SCU on Feb. 4, Jones led the charge with a team-high 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting and 7-of-11 from the free throw line to go with 10 boards, three assists and two steals. Jones followed it up with 20 points and 10 rebounds in an 84-78 win at Oklahoma City on Feb. 6, shooting 7-of-12 from the floor, 1-for-2 from three and 5-for-7 from the free throw line to go with a pair of thefts in defense.
It is the second straight year that the Evangels have had a player earn unanimous All-SAC First Team honors after Ashford Golden was named the league's MVP during the 2019-20 season.
A six-foot senior guard from Brookhaven, Miss., Brooks received the SAC Sportsmanship Award, voted upon by the league's 11 head coaches for the leadership he brings both on-and-off the court. In his second season with the Evangels, Brooks has competed in 12 games, making six starts and is averaging 6.3 ppg and 2.3 rpg. Brooks scored a season-high 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the three-point arc and went 2-for-2 from the foul line in a 103-79 victory at Randall on Nov. 16.
For the second straight season, Dorsey was named to the All-SAC Honorable Mention team for his strong performance at the point guard position during the last half of the season. A six-foot senior guard from Shreveport, La., Dorsey returned to the court in February after suffering an early season injury and has competed in the Evangels' last six games. In that stretch, Dorsey has been one of the team's all-around leaders, averaging 14.0 ppg on 41.4 percent shooting, 36 percent from three and despite playing just six games is making a huge impact from the foul line by knocking down 29-of-34 (85.3 percent). Dorsey is averaging 4.3 rpg and 2.8 assists per game while defensively clipping 1.5 steals per contest.
In Dorsey's first action at Southwestern Christian on Feb. 4, he propelled the team back from a 17-point deficit with 11 minutes left to play. Dorsey scored 21 points in his return to the lineup, knocking down a blistering 7-of-10 from the field, which included going 6-for-6 on his attempts from inside the three-point arc while converting 6-for-7 from the foul line to go with four rebounds and three assists. Dorsey followed it up with another stellar performance in the win at OCU just two days later, scoring a season-high 23 points on 5-of-10 from the floor and was on-fire from the charity stripe, making 12-of-13 attempts while also dishing out a pair of assists to go with two steals.
In his first season with MACU, Lewis has proven to be one of the offensive leaders for the Evangels. A 6-1 guard from the Bronx, N.Y., the SUNY Sullivan transfer is averaging 10.2 ppg on a very strong 47 percent shooting clip while also knocking down a team-leading 24-for-59 (40.7 percent) from the three-point arc. Lewis is currently second on the team defensively with 12 steals and has so far dished out 19 assists.
Lewis' best offensive performance of the season came in the team's season-opener against Manhattan Christian back on Oct. 31, dropping 15 points on 5-of-9 from the floor and 3-for-5 from behind the arc while pulling down four rebounds and dishing two assists in a 108-73 victory at the Gaulke Activity Center. Lewis played a pivotal role in MACU's win at Southwestern Christian on Feb. 4, scoring nine of his final 14 points in the second half to help the Evangels rally for the win.
After picking up a 70-66 overtime win over No. 5 seed Texas Wesleyan on Wednesday, the Evangels will see a familiar foe in the SAC Semifinals as MACU will take on top-seeded and nationally eighth-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God for a 5 p.m. tip-off in Waxahachie, Texas.
