OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team will make the short trip down to Chickasha to take on one of its biggest rivals in Science & Arts at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday night before returning home for a 3:45 p.m. tip-off against Texas Wesleyan on Saturday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 9-13 (6-10 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State – 82-79 – Jan. 28, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: DaRaun Clark (280, 15.6 ppg), Eylan Goodwyn (242, 11.5 ppg), Seth Hurd (203, 10.2 ppg)
  • FG% (Min. 3 FGM/G): Seth Hurd (53.8%, 86-160), Eylan Goodwyn (47.4%, 83-175), DaRaun Clark (39.6%, 88-222)
  • 3FG% (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Conner Calavan (36.0%, 36-100), Jonathan Alexandre (35.6%, 26-73)
  • FT% (Min. 2 FTM/G): DaRaun Clark (78.4%, 87-111), Eylan Goodwyn (76.2%, 64-84)
  • Reb: Tarrence Gaines (148, 7.0 rpg), Seth Hurd (97, 4.9 rpg), Eylan Goodwyn (78, 3.7 rpg)
  • Assists: Jaylon Barnett (58, 2.9 apg), Trevonte Doolittle (36, 1.8 apg), Tarrence Gaines (33, 1.6 apg)
  • Steals: Jaylon Barnett (25, 1.3 spg), DaRaun Clark (20, 1.1 spg), Two Tied (16)
  • Blocks: Tarrence Gaines (15, 0.7 bpg), Seth Hurd (10, 0.5 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian battled back from an 11-point deficit with eight minutes left in their 82-79 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday. After taking a brief lead, OPSU tied the game at 79 on a three-point play with 20 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Eylan Goodwyn went strong to the rim from the left wing to finish with a right-handed scoop layup with 2.2 seconds left to put MACU in-front for good.
  • After struggling offensively in his previous three games, redshirt sophomore guard DaRaun Clark put together one of his best shooting performances of the season, scoring 20 points while going 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) from the field.
  • Seth Hurd recorded his second double-double in the last three games and notched his third 10-plus rebounding performance in the last four after scoring 18 points on 6-for-8 (75 percent) from the floor and 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) from the line to go with 10 boards.
  • Mid-America Christian went 2-1 in its three-game home stand after defeating Central Christian 82-72 on Jan. 21 before falling to Wayland Baptist 103-77 on Jan. 26.

SCOUTING REPORT
Science & Arts (Okla.)

• Record: 11-11 (8-8 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at UNT-Dallas – 91-81 – Jan. 28, 2023 – Dallas, Texas
• Series vs. MACU (2008-): Series Tied 17-17
• Last Game vs. MACU: USAO won 96-84 – Dec. 8, 2022 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Players to Watch:
  • Samkelo Cele – SR – G
    • 428 Points (19.5 ppg), 155-296 FG (52.4%), 36-91 3FG (39.6%), 82-103 FT (79.6%), 110 Reb (5.0 rpg), 25 Steals (1.1 spg)
  • Gerard Makuntae – SR – G
    • 347 Points (15.8 ppg), 135-251 FG (53.8%), 35-102 3FG (34.3%), 42-56 FT (75.0%), 187 Reb (8.5 rpg), 42 Assists (1.9 apg), 32 Steals (1.5 spg), 31 Blocks (1.4 bpg)
  • Langston Gaither – SR – G
    • 319 Points (15.2 ppg), 111-243 FG (45.7%), 25-76 3FG (32.9%), 72-98 FT (73.5%), 154 Reb (7.3 rpg), 72 Assists (3.4 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • Since picking up a 106-88 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Jan. 12, Science & Arts has been on a slump, losing its last six games with its last defeat coming in a 91-81 decision at UNT-Dallas on Jan. 28.
  • While the team is scoring 86.6 points per game, which ranks third in the Sooner Athletic Conference and ninth in the NAIA, the Drovers have struggled on the offensive end during its six-game slump, averaging just 75.5 ppg while defensively allowing 88.0 points per contest to sit as the second-worst scoring defense in the league at 83.3 for the year.
  • USAO is the only team in the SAC with a trio of players averaging more than 15 ppg, led by senior combo guard Samkelo Cele. The South African native ranks as the third-most prolific scorer in the conference at 19.5 ppg while shooting 52.4 percent from the field, 39.6 percent from the arc and 79.6 percent from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Gerard Makuntae is one of just three players in the SAC that rank in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding at 15.8 ppg (10^th) and 8.5 rpg (5^th).
  • While the series is dead even at 17-17, the Evangels have struggled as of late as USAO has won the last six meetings. In their previous matchup, the Evangels got a pair of strong offensive performances from DaRaun Clark (20 points) and Eylan Goodwyn (19 points) while Tarrence Gaines finished with a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), but the Evangels struggled to slow down the Drovers who ran away with the 96-84 win inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Dec. 8.

Texas Wesleyan

• Record: 12-10 (9-7 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. SW Assemblies of God (Texas) – 88-78 – Jan. 28, 2023 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Series vs. MACU (2013-): MACU leads 12-7
• Players to Watch:
  • Akili Vining – SR – G
    • 406 Points (18.5 ppg), 143-308 FG (46.4%), 40-95 3FG (42.1%), 80-97 FT (82.5%), 108 Reb (4.9 rpg), 67 Assists (3.0 apg), 32 Steals (1.5 spg)
  • Keyaun Hoskin – JR – G
    • 273 Points (13.0 ppg), 98-179 FG (54.7%), 23-57 3FG (40.4%), 103 Reb (4.9 rpg), 55 Assists (2.6 apg), 31 Steals (1.5 spg)
  • Peyton Sallee – SR – G
    • 244 Points (12.8 ppg), 85-184 FG (46.2%), 54-131 3FG (41.2%), 20-28 FT (71.4%), 77 Reb (4.1 rpg), 41 Assists (2.2 apg), 35 Steals (1.8 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Texas Wesleyan split a pair of home games last week as the Rams cruised to a 100-69 victory against UNT-Dallas on Jan. 26, but fell to Southwestern Assemblies of God 88-78 on Saturday.
  • The Rams are offensively one of the top teams in the NAIA, ranking second in the SAC in scoring at 88.0 ppg while holding the nation's seventh-best scoring clip. However, TWU has struggled defensively, allowing 81.6 ppg
  • Leading the Rams is senior guard Akili Vining, ranking fourth in the SAC in scoring average at 18.5 ppg while shooting 46.4 percent from the field to go with the league's fourth-best three-point clip (42.1) and fifth-ranked free throw rate (82.5).
  • Mid-America Christian has fared well against the Rams in the recent series, winning five of the last six meetings. In their previous meeting in Fort Worth on Jan. 2, DaRaun Clark helped lead the Evangels to an 86-83 victory after scoring 30 points on 7-of-15 shooting while knocking down 14-for-14 from the free throw line.