OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team will make one last push toward qualifying for the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament this week as the Evangels will wrap-up the regular season with a 7:45 p.m. matchup at John Brown on Thursday night before returning home for Senior Day on Saturday in a 3:45 p.m. contest against crosstown rival Oklahoma City.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 11-15 (8-12 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. SW Assemblies of God (Texas) – 84-74 – Feb. 11, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Eylan Goodwyn (327, 13.1 ppg), DaRaun Clark (286, 13.6 ppg), Seth Hurd (252, 10.5 ppg)
  • FG% (Min. 3 FGM/G): Seth Hurd (53.7, 109-203), Eylan Goodwyn (49.3, 113-229), DaRaun Clark (38.5, 90-234)
  • 3FG% (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Eylan Goodwyn (36.4, 24-66), Conner Calavan (35.5, 43-121), Jonathan Alexandre (35.3, 30-85)
  • FT% (Min. 2 FTM/G): DaRaun Clark (78.4, 87-111), Eylan Goodwyn (76.2, 77-101)
  • Reb: Tarrence Gaines (179, 7.2 rpg), Seth Hurd (112, 4.7 rpg), Eylan Goodwyn (99, 4.0 rpg)
  • Assists: Jaylon Barnett (60, 2.5 apg), Trevonte Doolittle (51, 2.1 apg), Two Tied (42)
  • Steals: Jaylon Barnett (27, 1.1 spg), DaRaun Clark (22, 1.0 spg), Two Tied (19)
  • Blocks: Tarrence Gaines (18, 0.7 bpg), Seth Hurd (17, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian suffered a tough setback at home last Saturday as the Evangels fell to Southwestern Assemblies of God, 84-74. Eylan Goodwyn and Conner Calavan sparked MACU on the offensive end as Goodwyn finished with 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 3-for-4 from three while Calavan tallied 18 points on 6-for-9 from the field and 4-of-7 from three, but the rest of the team was only able to notch 35 points on 14-of-41 (34.1 percent) shooting.
  • With the defeat and Southwestern Christian suffering a 72-71 road loss at UNT-Dallas, The Evangels are currently tied with the Eagles for ninth in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings at 8-12, a game back of the Trailblazers and John Brown who are locked up at seventh at 9-11. The game against the Golden Eagles will prove to be a pivotal one as a win would give MACU the tiebreaker over JBU as well as UNT-Dallas, but SCU holds the tiebreaker over the Evangels in the league standings.
  • Goodwyn has carried the MACU offensive efforts in the month of February. Since the start of the month, the Gladewater, Texas product is averaging 21.3 ppg on a 55.6 percent shooting percentage, including going 12-for-20 (60 percent) from three-point range and 13-of-17 (76.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
  • After the completion of the women's game against Oklahoma City on Saturday, the Evangels will honor their lone graduating senior, Trevonte Doolittle. In his lone season with MACU, Doolittle has provided a spark at the point guard position, especially since the start of the 2023 portion of the season, averaging 9.3 ppg on 48.1 percent from the field, 44.0 percent from three and 78.6 percent from the line to go with a team-high 32 assists over the 13-game slate.

SCOUTING REPORT
John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 11-15 (9-11 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Oklahoma City – 87-69 – Feb. 14, 2023 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs. MACU (2003-): JBU leads 18-14
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 56-44 – Jan. 12, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Players to Watch:
  • Payton Guiot – SR – G
    • 260 Points (13.7 ppg), 80-228 FG (35.1%), 61-168 3FG (36.3%), 39-50 FT (78.0%), 71 Reb (3.7 rpg), 61 Assists (3.2 apg), 32 Steals (1.7 spg)
  • DJ Ellis – SR – G
    • 217 Points (9.4 ppg), 79-199 FG (39.7%), 32-115 3FG (27.8%), 27-36 FT (75.0%), 72 Reb (3.1 rpg), 99 Assists (4.3 apg)
  • James Beckom – SR – G
    • 224 Points (9.0 ppg), 82-174 FG (47.1%), 58-86 FT (67.4%), 175 Reb (7.0 rpg), 24 Steals (1.0 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Since getting a 90-63 victory at Science & Arts (Okla.) on Jan. 19, John Brown has been on a meteoric rise in the SAC standings, climbing all the way from second-to-last in the league to a tie for seventh (9-11) after winning six of the last nine contests.
  • A recipe of the Golden Eagles recent success has been their defense as JBU has moved to second in the SAC in scoring defense (70.7 ppg) and are one of only two teams in the conference that are allowing the opposition to shoot worse than 30 percent (27.6) from the three-point arc.
  • Offensively, JBU is a tough team to defend due to a balanced scoring lineup with seven players averaging at least 7.0 ppg. The only double-digit scorer on the squad is senior guard Payton Guiot, tallying 13.7 ppg on one of the best three-point rates in the SAC at 61-for-168 (36.3 percent), knocking down the fourth-most triples in the conference.
  • After Mid-America Christian had lost five of their previous six meetings, the Evangels came up on the winning end of a 56-44 defensive slugfest inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 12. By holding JBU to just 44 points, the Evangels set the program record for the fewest points allowed in a game during the NAIA Era, surpassing the mark set in a 103-45 win over Ecclesia (Ark.) on Nov. 12, 2020.

Oklahoma City

• Record: 14-12 (12-8 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at John Brown (Ark.) – 87-69 – Feb. 14, 2023 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs. MACU (2003-): OCU leads 20-16
• Last Game vs. OCU: OCU won 92-68 – Jan. 14, 2023 – El Reno, Okla.
• Players to Watch:
  • Avery Jackson – FR – G
    • 445 Points (17.1 ppg), 145-306 FG (47.4%), 38-95 3FG (40.0%), 117-155 FT (75.5%), 134 Reb (5.2 rpg), 44 Assists (1.7 apg), 37 Steals (1.4 spg)
  • Kori Guest – SR – F
    • 400 Points (15.4 ppg), 133-307 FG (43.3%), 64-170 3FG (37.6%), 70-88 FT (79.5%), 175 Reb (6.7 rpg), 46 Assists (1.8 apg)
  • Dravon Clayborn – SR – G
    • 292 Points (11.2 ppg), 105-270 FG (38.9%), 62-97 FT (63.9%), 101 Reb (3.9 rpg), 126 Assists (4.9 apg), 40 Steals (1.5 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Currently contending for one of the top four spots in the SAC standings, Oklahoma City suffered a tough defeat at John Brown on Tuesday night as the Golden Eagles ran away with an 87-69 victory. The loss dropped OCU into a tie for fourth with Science & Arts (12-8) in conference play.
  • The Stars have a relatively even point differential against their opponents this season as OCU ranks eighth in scoring offense (77.7 ppg) but sixth in scoring defense (76.3 ppg). One of the weaknesses for the Stars in 2022-23 has been rebounding, as OCU ranks eighth in the SAC with a -0.4 differential.
  • A bulk of OCU's scoring comes from its top four players, headlined by freshman guard Avery Jackson. The Frisco, Texas product comes into the weekend with a 17.1 ppg scoring averaging, shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 40 percent from three while effectively getting to the line with a 117-155 (75.5 percent) clip.
  • In their last meeting, the Stars snapped MACU's six-game win streak in the series as a dominant second half performance propelled Oklahoma City to a 92-68 win at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla. on Jan. 14. Jonathan Alexandre provided a spark for MACU off the bench, scoring 12 points after going 4-for-7 from three-point range.