OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian men's basketball team picked up its second straight win at Oklahoma City as the Evangels pulled away late to come away with the 80-68 victory inside Abe Lemons Arena on Thursday night.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Terrance Jones – 17 Points, 7-11 FG, 2-2 FT, 5 Reb
• Kendal Scott – 15 Points, 6-11 FG, 3-4 FT, 8 Reb
• Caleb Riggs – 15 Points, 6-13 FG, 3-8 3FG
• Tony Dorsey – 9 Points, 3-6 FG, 2-2 FT, 10 Assists, 8 Reb, 3 Steals

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian got off to a blistering start, scoring the first eight points, all of which coming off the hand of Kendall Scott to make it an 8-0 game with just over 18 minutes remaining.
  • Following a Ryan Birt layup, the Evangels swelled their lead to double-figures for the first time with Scott's 10^th point of the contest and a Caleb Riggs lay-in to set the score to 12-2 with 15:53 left.
  • After Kori Guest knocked down three free throws, MACU once again pushed its advantage out to double-digits with a seven unanswered run, featuring five points from freshman reserve forward Quentin Woodson, giving the Evangels their largest lead of the game at 19-5 with 12:37 on the clock.
  • Oklahoma City was able to shift the momentum on a Birt three-pointer two possessions later as the Stars rattled off a 15-3 run to close it to a one-possession game on a Rashaun Coleman steal and fastbreak layup, bringing it to 22-20 with just over six minutes left.
  • Both teams struggled to score over the next three minutes as Terrance Jones finally broke through with a lay-up in the paint with 3:26 to go before Birt bounced back with a lay-in on the ensuing possession to close it back to two at 24-22.
  • MACU finished strong as Jones buried a three from the left corner off an Omar Boone kickout before Riggs got a layup to fall at the 49 second mark to send the Evangels into the half with the 29-22 advantage.
• Second Half
  • The Evangels opened the second half in blazing fashion as Boone and Riggs knocked down threes in the first minute to extend the Evangels' edge back to double-digits at 35-22.
  • A couple of quick scores by the Stars allowed them to trim it back to single figures before Riggs drained his second three of the half to push it back to 38-26 with 17:43 remaining.
  • Oklahoma City scored eight of the next 10 to close in on the Evangels lead, but a Scott layup followed by a Boone steal and fastbreak layup set it to 44-34 with 14:31 on the clock.
  • The Stars continued to chip away at the MACU edge over the next two minutes as Kori Guest got a three-point play and a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to pull it to a 46-44 contest with 12:24 remaining.
  • Mid-America Christian was unable to pull away from the Stars as OCU kept it to within two possessions over the following seven minutes before Jones got a dish from Tony Dorsey and finished the three-point play to make it 65-58 at the 6:11 mark.
  • Oklahoma City managed to keep it within striking distance over the next three minutes as a pair of Rashaun Coleman free throws with 3:35 to go made it a 69-65 contest.
  • The Mid-America Christian defense shut down the Stars for the rest of the way as a Riggs fastbreak layup started a nine-unanswered Evangels run. Jones converted his second three-point play of the match with just under two minutes left while a pair of Scott free throws and an Isaiah Hammons layup put the game away at 78-65 with 30 seconds to go.
  • OCU's Zach Lerblance knocked down a three before Hammons wrapped up the game with a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to secure the 80-68 win.

GAME NOTES

• Despite shooting just 7-for-24 (29.2 percent) from three, Mid-America Christian was efficient from inside the arc by finishing 30-for-64 (46.9 percent) from the floor and converted 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) from the foul line.
• Defensively, the Evangels held Oklahoma City to only 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) shooting and 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc. While the Stars were able to get to the foul line, they were only able to convert 18-of-27 (66.7 percent) for the contest.
• Even though the Evangels committed 12 first half turnovers, Mid-America Christian made some strong halftime adjustments and made just five miscues in the second half while defensively forcing the Stars into 20 turnovers for the contest. MACU also held a slim 38-37 edge on the glass as a team.
• Senior guard Tony Dorsey just missed a triple-double in the win. For the third time in his three-year MACU career, the Shreveport, La. native recorded 10 assists to go with nine points, eight rebounds and three steals on the defensive end.
• For the first time since dropping 20 points in a win over Bacone on Nov. 23, senior forward Terrance Jones led the offensive efforts with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting while converting his lone three-point attempt and both foul shots to go with five boards.
• Senior forward Kendall Scott continued to make a big impact in just his third contest with the Evangels, scoring 15 points on 6-for-11 from the field and went 3-of-4 from the line to go with a season-high eight rebounds.
• Caleb Riggs poured in 15 points on 6-of-13 from the floor and 3-for-8 from three while Omar Boone rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting and 2-of-5 from three to go with six assists.
• By getting the win, Mid-America Christian has now won five straight against the Stars with three of those victories coming inside Abe Lemons Arena. The Evangels picked up an 84-78 win in the two teams' lone meeting last season on Feb. 6, 2021.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will return home on Saturday as the Evangels will host John Brown for a 3:45 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center.