OKLAHOMA CITY - The Mid-America Christian men's basketball team fell 96-84 in its final home game of 2022 to Science & Arts inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
TOP PERFORMERS
- DaRaun Clark - 20 Points, 4 Reb, 3 Assists, 7-14 FG
- Eylan Goodwyn - 19 Points, 1 Steal, 8-12 FG
- Tarrence Gaines - 12 Points, 10 Reb, 5-10 FG, 2-4 3PT
- Seth Hurd – 9 Points, 3-6 FG, 3-4 FT, 7 Reb, 6 Assists
GAME SUMMARY
- First Half
- Science & Arts utilized a six-unanswered run early in the first half as to take a 10-4 lead with 16:41 to go as Gerard Makuntae and Samkelo Cele combined four eight of the Drovers' first 10 points.
- After a Cade Allen three extended the USAO advantage to 16-8 with just over 15 minutes remaining, the Evangels caught fire behind back-to-back layups from DaRaun Clark and Eylan Goodwyn as MACU put together a 13-2 run as Tarrence Gaines got a fastbreak finger roll layup to go, giving MACU the 21-18 lead with 8:39 left.
- After Dallen Forsythe and Jonathan Alexandre traded a pair of buckets, Forsythe and Cejay Mann put the Drovers back in-front to start an 11-0 run as Makuntae's three-ball capped the run at 31-23 with 4:10 to play.
- USAO built its lead out to as much as 10 with 1:53 left to following another Forsythe step-back three to make it 39-29, but the Evangels closed out the half with a strong 8-3 run as Clark drilled a three at the buzzer on an Alexandre kick-out to close it to a 42-37 game at the break.
- Second Half
- Jaylen Barnett and Langston Gaither traded a pair of layups coming out of the break before MACU battled back to tie it at 44 at the 17:33 mark off a pair of Goodwyn foul shots and a Gaines three-ball from the left wing.
- USAO regained the lead for good on the ensuing possession as Mann sliced through the MACU defense down the lane for a tightly contested layup.
- A pair of layups from Clark and Goodwyn closed the gap to one at 49-48 with 15:25 to go, but the Drovers swung back with a 19-7 run as Makuntae gave USAO its largest lead of the contest at 68-55 with a fastbreak layup with 8:38 left.
- With just under six minutes left, Gaines and Conner Calavan knocked down threes on back-to-back possessions to cut the USAO lead to 74-68 with 5:19 remaining.
- Mid-America Christian was unable to close the gap to less than six the rest of the way as the Drovers pushed their lead back out to double-digits before Cele finished off a three-point play with just over a minute left to push the advantage back out to 91-78.
GAME NOTES
- Mid-America Christian shot well from the field, going 31-of-64 (48.4 percent), but mustered just 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from three-point range. However, the Evangels overcame struggles from range in the first half as they went 1-of-9 (11.1 percent) in the opening 20 minutes before hitting 7-for-14 (50 percent) in the second half.
- The Evangels defensively struggled to slow down the Drovers as Science & Arts shot 35-of-63 (55.6 percent) from the field and finished 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from three.
- DaRaun Clark and Eylan Goodwyn led the way in scoring for the Evangels as they combined for 39 points. Clark led the way with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 2-for-5 from three to go with four rebounds and three assists. Goodwyn was especially sharp by converting on 8-of-12 shot attempts and 3-of-4 free throw attempts.
- Conner Calavan heated up in the second half from downtown, cashing in a trio of three-pointers to finish with 12 points, 11 of which came in the final 20 minutes.
- Tarrence Gaines posted his second straight double-double after pouring in 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 2-for-4 from three to go with a team-high 10 boards.
- USAO moves to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference with the victory while MACU lost its sixth consecutive meeting with the Drovers. The Evangels meanwhile fall to 3-7 overall and 1-4 in SAC play.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will make the short trip to Bethany, Okla. on Tuesday, Dec. 13 to face rival Southwestern Christian in is final game of the 2022 slate. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium.
