OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its 2021-22 All-Conference honorees on Wednesday afternoon as four members of the MACU men's basketball team earned an All-SAC nod.
Senior guard/forward Isaiah Hammons headlined the Evangels by being named the SAC Sixth Man of the Year and garnered All-SAC Second Team honors. Senior guard Tony Dorsey, a two-time All-SAC Honorable Mention his first two seasons with the program earned All-SAC Third Team honors and was tabbed to the All-SAC Defensive Team. The Evangels placed two players on the All-SAC Freshman Team as Quentin Woodson and Tarrence Gaines earned the honors.
In his first season with the program, Hammons has led the MACU offensive and defensive efforts during the 2021-22 campaign, scoring 473 points (15.3 ppg) on 45.3 percent shooting and has made the second-most three-pointers on the team at 35-for-125 (28 percent).
The Oklahoma City native leads the SAC in both free throws made and attempted, converting on 158-of-214 (73.8 percent) of his attempts after breaking the program's NAIA era record for the most makes in a season after going 14-for-18 in a win over Central Christian on Senior Night last week. His 14 conversions in that victory narrowly missed tying Charlie Shorter's single-game record of 15 makes set against Science & Arts on Jan. 19, 2012.
Hammons not only leads the SAC in free throw shooting, he is also one of the conference's top defenders, leading the league in steals with 62 thefts while also leading the squad in rebounds with 188 (6.1 rpg).
Despite suffering a 62-57 loss to Wayland Baptist on Jan. 20, Hammons made his mark in the MACU record book by notching eight steals to set the program's NAIA Era record for the most takeaways in a single game. Hammons surpassed the previous record of seven that was initially set by Brandon Williams against John Brown on Jan. 15, 2009 before being matched twice by Semar Farris against Colorado Christian on Mar. 20, 2014 and John Brown on Feb. 12, 2015.
Landing on the All-SAC Third Team, Dorsey is one of the top-rated point guards in the league as his 108 assists and 4.3 per game average rank as the third-highest in the SAC. The six-foot guard from Shreveport, La. is also averaging 10.2 ppg and is coming off one of his best performances of the season in the SAC Quarterfinal against UNT-Dallas, scoring a season-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, going 6-for-9 from the free throw line to go with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Dorsey's defensive prowess also landed him on the All-SAC Defensive Team as not only is he the best on-ball defender on the squad, but he also ranks second on the team in steals with 41 while his 1.6 spg places him sixth in the SAC.
In his rookie campaign, Woodson boasts the highest shooting percentage on the team, knocking down 67-of-111 (60.4 percent) to average 5.9 ppg. The 6-5 forward from Oklahoma City poured in a season-high 15 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in a 118-67 win over Bacone inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Nov. 23.
Known more for his defensive prowess, Gaines has seen more-and-more playing time as the season has progressed and has been a key on-ball defender in crucial defensive situations for the Evangels. The 6-4 wing from Denison, Texas has made stronger contributions offensively late in the season as well, scoring seven points in the season finale at Langston before tying a career-high eight points in the win over UNT Dallas during the SAC Tournament Opening Round on Tuesday night.
Mid-America Christian has been riding some strong momentum entering the SAC quarterfinals, winning 13 of its last 17 games. With the victory over UNT-Dallas during the Opening Round, the Evangels recorded their sixth 20-win season in the last eight campaigns with the lone exceptions being the 2016-17 seasons and the COVID-19 impacted 2020-21 campaign where MACU went 12-5 and advanced to the second round of the NAIA Tournament.
The Evangels will return to action on Friday night as Mid-America Christian will travel to Waxahachie, Texas for a battle against second-seeded and nationally 23rd-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God at 7 p.m. inside the Sheaffer Center.
