Box Score DALLAS – The MACU men's basketball team fought its way back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to force overtime before escaping with an 80-78 overtime victory over UNT-Dallas inside the Trinity Basin Preparatory Athletic Complex on Thursday night to sweep the season series from the Trailblazers.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Seth Hurd – 20 Points, 9-14 FG, 2-4 FT, 11 Reb, 2 Assists, 2 Blocks
• Eylan Goodwyn – 18 Points, 5-18 FG, 2-6 3FG, 6-8 FT, 7 Reb, 2 Blocks
• Conner Calavan – 12 Points, 3-8 FG, 2-5 3FG, 4-5 FT, 8 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • UNT-Dallas (14-7, 12-6 SAC) jumped out to a 15-6 advantage as four different Trailblazers before Hysheim Weston's layup with 14:36 to go made it a nine-point lead.
  • The Trailblazers defense locked down the Evangels holding Mid-America Christian (11-14, 8-11 SAC) scoreless for over a three-minute stretch to grab its largest lead until Seth Hurd muscled in a layup to make it a 26-14 score with 7:13 to play.
  • Another Hurd layup cut the Trailblazer lead to single-digits for the first time in over seven minutes, however UNT-Dallas answered back with a 9-3 run to push its advantage back out to 35-21 with 3:47 remaining.
  • MACU kicked it into another gear in the final 3:30 as the Evangels scored 13 unanswered to close it to one on a Hurd and-one at 35-34 with 51 seconds to go.
  • The Evangels had an opportunity to take a lead into the break when Hurd went to the foul line with four seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one before a foul on a buzzer-beating three-point attempt sent Larry Rusk to the line with no time left to extend the UNTD edge to 38-34 heading into the half.
• Second Half

• UNT-Dallas gradually built its lead out to double-figures on a Curtis Coleman three-point play with 11:02 to go to make it a 51-39 game.
• The Evangels worked their way back over the next eight minutes as MACU mustered a 16-4 run before Goodwyn sank a pair from the line to tie things up at 55 with 3:34 to play.
• Demaryon Thorton knocked down a three-pointer followed up by a 1-for-2 trip to the line from Jules Moor as UNT-Dallas regained a 59-55 lead with 1:35 left to play.
• After being fouled on a three-point attempt, Conner Calavan knocked down all three tries before MACU came up with a big defensive stop with just under a minute to go
• With 32 seconds left, Goodwyn buried a tough contested 20-foot jumper to give MACU its first lead of the night.
• After Goodwyn and Tarrence Gaines combined to go 2-for-4 from the free throw line, the Trailblazers tied it up when Jules Moor was fouled going up for a tying layup at the buzzer, knocking down a pair to tie it up and send it into OT tied at 62-all..

Overtime

• Hurd and Calavan got MACU off to a quick start in overtime with a pair of layups to build a four-point lead, but the Trailblazers battled back to bring it to a one-point game at 67-66 on a Moor foul shot.
• The Evangels came up with two huge defensive stops in the final minute before Goodwyn knocked down 3-of-4 free throws in the final 19 seconds to ultimately seal the 70-68 victory after Moor scored one last layup with a second left.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian held the shooting edge over UNT-Dallas as the Evangels shot 23-of-62 (37.1 percent) from the field, 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from three-point range as the Trailblazers put together a 24-for-68 (35.3 percent) performance from the field and shot 6-of-24 (25 percent) from deep.
• MACU also had the advantage from the line shooting 19-for-28 (67.8 percent) compared to UNT-Dallas shooting 14-for-22 (63.6 percent).
• The MACU defense matched a season-high seven blocks, equaling the same amount as their previous meeting in Oklahoma City on Jan. 5.
• The Evangels played yet another nail-biting contest making it four consecutive games with a final score of three points or less.
• Seth Hurd once again led the way, turning in a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-digit outing in the last six games to go with his third double-double of the season.
• Eylan Goodwyn finished with 18 points with a 6-of-8 clip from the free throw line to go with the game-sealing shots from the line with eight seconds left in overtime.
• Conner Calavan cashed in 12 points off the bench, going 2-of-5 from range and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
• Tarrence Gaines once again filled up the stat sheet with eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and a season-high three blocked shots.
• Mid-America Christian won its fifth straight match over UNT-Dallas and sweeps the season series after coming away with a 72-55 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 5.
• With the win and a Southwestern Christian loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God, the Evangels moved into a tie with the Eagles for eighth in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with three games left to go in the regular season.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back at home looking to win a third straight on Saturday as the Evangels will take on Southwestern Assemblies of God for a 3:45 tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center.