SILOAM SPRINGS, ARK. – After slugging out a defensive battle in their first meeting, the MACU men's basketball team and John Brown put on a stellar offensive display as the Evangels rallied to force overtime, but the Golden Eagles outplayed MACU in the extra session in a 101-96 defeat inside Bill George Arena on Thursday night.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Seth Hurd – 30 Points, 13-19 FG, 4-9 FT, 9 Reb, 5 Assists
- Eylan Goodwyn – 22 Points, 8-18 FG, 4-8 3FG
- Trevonte Doolittle – 18 points, 8-13 FG, 2-3 3FG, 7 Reb, 7 Assists, 2 Steals
- Tarrence Gaines – 15 points, 5-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, 10 Reb, 3 Assists
GAME SUMMARY
- First Half
- Mid-America Christian (11-16, 8-13 SAC) jumped out to a 3-0 advantage right after the tip as Eylan Goodwyn was able to convert one of two free throws from the line followed up by a Trevonte Doolittle layup.
- John Brown (12-15,10-11 SAC) bounced right back with a three-pointer from Payton Guiot leading to the two teams trading baskets as Goodwyn tied things up with a three at 11-11 with 14:19 to go.
- The Evangels strung together 9-1 run as Doolittle and Goodwyn put MACU up with a pair of buckets 17-12 with 12:10 remaining. The Golden Eagles bounced back with a 12-4 run of their own as a James Beckom jumper put John Brown out in-front 24-21 with eight minutes left in the half.
- With 5:50 to go, Jonathan Alexandre sank a three-pointer to cut the JBU lead to one, but the Golden Eagles answered again with seven-unanswered as another Guiot three-pointer to put them ahead 36-28 with 4:16 to go.
- MACU came right back by going on a 10-4 run and taking a 38-37 lead as Seth Hurd knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Evangels out in-front with 1:29 remaining.
- The two squads traded baskets to finish off the first half as John Brown would get another three from Guiot and a pair of free throws from Tyren Collins. A layup from Hurd with 28 seconds sent the teams into the locker room with John Brown leading 42-40.
- Things remained close as both teams traded baskets to open up the second half as Goodwyn's jumper put MACU ahead with 16:34 left.
- Neither team was able to gain larger than a three-point lead for the first 12 minutes of the half until JBU's Tyren Collins midrange jumper made it a five-point game at 73-68 with 8:38 remaining.
- Hurd and Doolittle kept the Evangels within striking distance, preventing John Brown from getting out to a comfortable lead as a Hurd layup closed it to 79-78 with 5:26 to go.
- John Brown held on to the lead over the final five minutes of play but Tarrence Gaines came up big for the Evangels sinking a pair of free throws putting MACU out in front 90-88 with 32 seconds left.
- With time winding down Malachi Reeves knocked down a clutch three-pointer from the left corner, putting the Golden Eagles ahead 91-90 with 14 seconds remaining.
- The Evangels had the chance to retake the lead as Hurd was fouled with six seconds left while executing a ball-fake and going up with the left hand. After missing the game-tying foul shot on the first try, he buried the second to bring the game to a 91-all deadlock.
- John Brown had one last chance at a game-winner, but the MACU defense forced the Golden Eagles into a poorly executed sideline in-bounds play with 1.2 seconds left to send the game into OT.
- Overtime
- The two squads traded baskets through the first two minutes until John Brown took a three-point lead at 97-94 after a James Beckom field goal with 1:58 remaining.
- Gaines cut it to one on a long jumper from the right elbow but Lukas Gabani came right back by muscling in a layup and drawing the foul to extend the edge out to three once again at 99-96 with 1:19 left.
- Mid-America Christian was unable to come up with a score over the final minute as the Golden Eagles knocked down a pair of free throws down the stretch to seal the 101-96 win.
GAME NOTES
- Mid-America Christian held the shooting edge over John Brown as the Evangels shot 38-of-76 (50 percent) from the field, 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from three-point range. The Golden Eagles put together a 37-for-81 (45.7 percent) performance from the field and shot 13-of-34 (38.2 percent) from deep.
- Free throw shooting played a role in the outcome as JBU outperformed MACU by going 14-for-21 (66.7 percent) compared to the Evangels' 8-for-16 (50 percent) outing.
- John Brown saw great production from its reserves, out-dueling MACU 28-11 in bench points.
- Another key aspect in the result was the Golden Eagles ability to break the MACU press and take care of the basketball, committing just eight turnovers over 45 minutes of play.
- Seth Hurd led the MACU offensive attack, posting a new career-high 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting along with nine rebounds and five assists. Hurd reaches double-figure scoring for the sixth-time in the last eight games.
- Eylan Goodwyn finished with 22 points on 8-for-18 from the field, but knocked down a blistering 4-of-8 from three-point land.
- Trevonte Doolittle ended up with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, capturing a new career-highs with seven rebounds and seven assists.
- Tarrence Gaines finished with a season-high 15 points as well as hauled in a team-leading 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.
- Even though MACU suffered a tough loss with major SAC Tournament implications, the Evangels chances of qualifying for the tourney stayed alive after Langston defeated UNT-Dallas 95-53 and Oklahoma City topped Southwestern Christian 84-70. The Trailblazers currently hold a one-game lead for the No. 8 spot in the conference standings over MACU and SCU with one game to go.
- Mid-America Christian splits the season series with John Brown after the two teams battled to a 56-44 final inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 12. In that win, the Evangels posted the NAIA Era (2007-) record for the fewest points allowed in a single game.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will be back at home for Senior Day on Saturday as the Evangels will take on Oklahoma City for a 3:45 tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
- The Evangels will honor their lone senior, Trevonte Doolittle after the completion of the women's game.
