OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team blasted its own NAIA Era rebounds record on Monday night inside the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels opened the 2023-24 season with a 79-59 victory over crosstown rival Randall.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Eddie Smith – 18 Points, 7-14 FG, 3-9 3FG, 4 Reb, 2 Assists, 2 Steals
• Magock Manyang – 12 Points, 5-10 FG, 2-4 3FG, 10 Reb
• Seth Hurd – 12 Points, 6-9 FG, 9 Reb
• DeAngelo Adkins – 12 Points, 5-9 FG, 9 Reb, 4 Steals

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • It was tough scoring for both teams through the first three minutes as Mid-America Christian (1-0) grabbed the early advantage on a Magok Manyang three before Seth Hurd buried a jumper from the left elbow to make it 5-0 with 17:14 to go.
  • Randall (0-2) briefly closed it to a two-point game following a Braeson Barr-Richardson jump-shot and a Kainan Ryan foul shot, but back-to-back three-point bombs from Manyang and Eddie Smith opened an 8-2 MACU run as Smith finished the streak with a Smith jumper from the left elbow off Conner Calavan's offensive board and kickout to set the score to 13-5 with just under 15 minutes left.
  • Smith snapped an offensive cold spell for both teams with his second three with 12:19 left, but the Saints fought back by scoring 12 of the next 16 to close it to 20-17 on a Rocky Smith floating layup after the Saints saved an errant pass off a fastbreak with a shade under eight minutes remaining.
  • The Evangels found their footing once again on the ensuing possession as Jasiah Lewis stepped through a double team for a tough floating right-handed layup, igniting a 12-unanswered MACU run that was capped off on a DeAngelo Adkins fastbreak layup with just under five minutes to go, making it a 32-17 Mid-America advantage.
  • The Saints tallied the next five to get it back to a 10-point game at 32-22 on a pair of Cooper Gudell foul shots with 3:11 on the clock.
  • However, the Evangels finished the half strong by scoring 11 of the final 16 points as Mikel Henderson buried a three from the right corner with just under 10 seconds to go to send MACU into the half with the 43-27 cushion.
• Second Half
  • Mid-America Christian scored eight of the first nine points coming out of the break as a steal and fastbreak lay-in by Smith set the score to 51-28 with 16:07 remaining.
  • The Saints closed the gap once again to 17 on a Ty Grimes three-ball at the 14-minute mark as both teams went blow-for-blow over the next three minutes.
  • Manyang's tip-in off his own offensive board with 11:19 to go allowed MACU to start a six-unanswered surged that he also capped off with another offensive rebound and put-back, making it 62-39 with 9:06 left.
  • Neither team could muster much of a run over the next four minutes as Randall could only briefly trim the MACU edge to below 20 once, coming off a Ty Grimes personal five-point run as his layup with 5:01 left brought it to 66-48.
  • Hurd finished strong with a layup in the low left block on the next possession as the Evangels eventually built their lead back out to 23 at 75-52 on Jalen Goar's three from the top of the key with 2:37 remaining.
  • Randall was unable to cut the MACU lead into any less than 20 as the Evangels cruised to a 79-59 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian dominated Randall offensively despite some cold shooting woes throughout the night as the Evangels shot 33-for-84 (39.3 percent) from the field and a frigid 7-of-37 (18.9 percent) while also converting just 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) from the free throw line.
• However, the Evangels defense also frustrated the Saints into knocking down just 18-of-56 (32.1 percent) from the floor and 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from three while RU's free throw shooting kept the Saints in the game after making 16-of-20 (80 percent).
• MACU struggled from long range against Randall's zone defense in the second half, converting just 1-for-11 (9.1 percent), but the Evangels found ways to score by picking apart the zone, making 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) of their field goals from inside the arc in the second half.
• The Evangels dominated the paint, outscoring RU by a 46-16 margin.
• Mid-America Christian eclipsed its NAIA Era (2007-present) single game rebounding record in the victory as MACU outrebounded Randall by an astounding 65-35 edge, including a 27-16 edge in offensive boards. The 65-board mark topped the previous record of 62 that was recorded earlier this year in an 89-86 home loss to Southwestern Christian on Jan. 16.
• In his first game as an Evangel, senior guard Eddie Smith led four MACU scorers in double-figures with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
• Magok Manyang led nearly a trio of Evangels that almost recorded double-doubles, as he notched 12 points and 10 boards in his MACU debut while DeAngelo Adkins and Seth Hurd each chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds.
• Adkins was a defensive juggernaut in his Evangels debut, turning in a game-high four steals.
• The Evangels turned in an overall solid floor game with 18 assists to only 11 turnovers. Jasiah Lewis led the balanced distribution efforts with four assists to go with six points, five boards and a pair of steals.
• Mid-America Christian improved to 17-4 all-time against Randall while the Evangels also tallied their eighth-straight win in the series.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back on its home court on Friday night as the Evangels will host Ozark Christian (Mo.) for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center.