FORT WORTH, Texas – The MACU men's basketball found itself down by 10 at one point, but remained persistent as the Evangels put together a dominant second half to rally for a 59-51 win at Texas Wesleyan inside the Sid Richardson Center on Thursday night.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Jasiah Lewis – 12 Points, 3-7 FG, 5-7 FT, 2 Reb
• Mikel Henderson – 11 Points, 3-7 FG, 2-6 3FG, 3-4 FT, 3 Assists
• Eddie Smith – 11 Points, 4-10 FG, 2-4 FT, 3 Reb, 3 Steals, 2 Assists

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Texas Wesleyan (2-6, 0-3 SAC) jumped out to the early 8-2 lead through the first four minutes, but Mid-America Christian (5-2, 2-1 SAC) closed it to a one-point game on a pair of Jasiah Lewis free throws before Magok Manyang buried a three from the left corner on the ensuing possession to make it 8-7 with 15:41 to go.
  • Both teams went ice cold from the floor over the next six minutes as neither team made a field goal until Eylan Goodwyn scooped in a left-handed layup in the paint with nine minutes left to trim the MACU deficit down to 12-10.
  • The Rams were able to put together a 9-1 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 21-11 on a pair of Micale Mee free throws with 4:29 remaining.
  • On the following possession, Lewis buried a sensational floating fadeaway jumper down the right side off the drive, igniting a 10-1 surge that Lewis ended with a three to close it to 22-21 with 1:37 to go before a Rasuan Collier layup sent the Rams into the half with the 24-21 advantage.
• Second Half
  • A steal and fastbreak layup by Mikel Henderson with 18:57 to go briefly cut it to a one-point game before TexWes scored six of the next seven points to stretch its lead back out to 30-24 at the 16:31 mark on Augustin Kingombe's jumper.
  • Lewis willed MACU back by driving down the left lane and finishing off a three-point play through contact as the Evangels eventually cut it back to a one-point game at 30-29 on DeAngelo Adkins' foul shot with 14:58 left.
  • The Rams scored the next five to push the advantage back to two possessions before eventually stretching the edge to seven at 40-33 on Mee's three with 9:21 remaining.
  • The Evangels shifted the game on its head following Henderson's curling three off the screen at the top of the key with just over nine minutes left, igniting an 11 unanswered run capped off on another Henderson three-ball with just over six minutes to go to make it a 45-40 MACU lead.
  • A strong Kristian Lafayette spin move and layup briefly stopped the run, but the Evangels built their largest lead of the game at 56-44 off a 13-2 run with Tarrence Gaines burying a jumper from the free throw line with 1:33 left to end the run.
  • Texas Wesleyan was able to trim MACU's lead in-half, but Seth Hurd ended the contest with a fastbreak flush after the Evangels beat the Rams press to wrap-up the 59-51 final.

GAME NOTES

• While MACU struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 26.9 percent from the field in the first half, the Evangels shot a much more efficient 48.0 percent in the second half to finish 19-for-51 (37.3 percent) from the floor, including 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from three while converting on 15-of-25 (60 percent) from the line.
• The Evangels defense was dominant from start to finish as the 51 points MACU allowed was the sixth-fewest it has allowed in a contest in the NAIA Era. Texas Wesleyan shot just 16-of-48 (33.3 percent), including only 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from three.
• Mid-America Christian was able to win the rebounding battle by a slim 34-32 edge while both teams did a good job of taking care of the basketball with each team committing just 12 turnovers.
• Jasiah Lewis led three MACU players in double-figures with 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting, including going 5-for-7 from the line.
• Mikel Henderson pitched in 11 points on 3-of-7 from the field, primarily shooting 2-for-6 from three and 3-of-4 from the line to go with a team-high three assists while Eddie Smith provided 11 points off the bench on 4-of-10 shooting with three rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• DeAngelo Adkins led MACU on the glass with eight rebounds to go with five points.
• With the win, Mid-America Christian has now won four-straight games inside the Sid Richardson Center as well as four-straight in the series while improving to 14-7 all-time against Texas Wesleyan.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will return home on Monday for a crucial Sooner Athletic Conference showdown against Science & Arts. Tip-off is slated for 7:45 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.