OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team will look to keep up its hot streak to close out the first half of Sooner Athletic Conference play this week as the Evangels host No. 25 Southwestern Assemblies of God for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off on Thursday night inside the Gaulke Activity Center before heading to Dallas on Saturday for a 3:45 p.m. tip-off against UNT Dallas.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 10-5 (6-3 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. John Brown (Ark.) – 70-54 – Jan. 13, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Eddie Smith (161, 11.5 ppg), Mikel Henderson (160, 10.7 ppg), Magok Manyang (150, 10.0 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Magok Manyang (51.5, 50-97), Seth Hurd (50.0, 58-116), DeAngelo Adkins (44.0, 44-100)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Magok Manyang (40.4, 19-47), Eddie Smith (36.2, 21-58), Mikel Henderson (32.3, 31-96)
  • Free Throw Percentage (%, M-A): Mikel Henderson (84.4, 27-32), Magok Manyang (79.5, 31-39), Eddie Smith (76.9, 20-26)
  • Rebounds: Magok Manyang (94, 6.3 rpg), DeAngelo Adkins (93, 6.2 rpg), Seth Hurd (59, 4.2 rpg)
  • Assists: Jasiah Lewis (55, 3.7 apg), Eddie Smith (35, 2.5 apg), Mikel Henderson (33, 2.2 apg)
  • Steals: DeAngelo Adkins (30, 2.0 spg), Eddie Smith (20, 1.4 spg), Jasiah Lewis (19, 1.3 spg)
  • Blocks: Magok Manyang (17, 1.1 bpg), DeAngelo Adkins (12, 0.8 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian put together one of its most stifling defensive performances of the season in a 70-54 home win over John Brown last Saturday. In the victory, the Evangels forced a season-high 26 turnovers, also the most the Golden Eagles have given up all season while also holding JBU to just 34.0 percent shooting, including only 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from three-point range.
  • Since suffering a 79-60 loss to No. 2 Langston inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 4, the Evangels have played lights out on both the offensive and defensive ends, averaging 81.0 ppg on 47.2 percent shooting, including 38.3 percent from three-point range while holding their opposition to only 64.5 ppg on 36.0 percent from the field and 26.5 percent from three. The Evangels have been especially great in the last three games, outscoring their opponents by 35, 14 and 16 points.
  • Following a 0-for-6 outing from behind the arc against Science & Arts on Dec. 11 that dropped his season three-point percentage to 22.8 percent through the first eight games, senior guard Mikel Henderson has found his stride from range. Since that 90-69 defeat, the Independence, Mo. product has gone 18-for-39 (46.2 percent) from downtown, raising his season average to a respectable 32.3 percent.
  • The Evangels continue to hold steady as one of the top defensive teams in the NAIA as MACU improved its rank to 14^th in the nation in scoring defense at 65.9 ppg while limiting opponents in an offensive heavy Sooner Athletic Conference to the fifth-lowest shooting percentage in the nation at 38.2 percent.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 25 Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas)

• Record: 11-4 (7-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Oklahoma Panhandle State – 101-57 – Jan. 13, 2024 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2005-): MACU leads 15-13
• Last Game vs MACU: SAGU won 84-74 – Feb. 11, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: SAGU won 3
• Players to Watch:
  • C.J. Hall – JR – G
    • 361 Points (24.1 ppg), 130-265 FG (49.1%), 35-81 3FG (43.2%), 66-92 FT (71.7%), 49 Reb (3.3 rpg), 31 Assists (2.1 apg), 21 Steals (1.4 spg)
  • Noah Boling – GR – G
    • 179 Points (11.9 ppg), 55-121 FG (45.5%), 32-79 3FG (40.5%), 37-48 FT (77.1%), 47 Reb (3.1 rpg), 62 Assists (4.1 apg), 23 Steals (1.5 spg)
  • C.J. Kelley – JR – F
    • 175 Points (13.5 ppg), 63-120 FG (52.5%), 49-66 FT (74.2%), 99 Reb (7.6 rpg), 19 Blocks (1.5 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • After suffering its first loss of 2024 at home to John Brown on Jan. 6, Southwestern Assemblies of God put together two outstanding road wins last week, picking up a 92-84 victory at No. 23 Wayland Baptist on Jan. 11 before getting a dominant 101-57 win at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday.
  • It will be an offensive vs. defensive clash on Thursday night as SAGU enters the contest as the top scoring offense in the league at 86.2 ppg. A big reason for the Lions high octane offensive play has stemmed from their downright phenomenal three-point shooting as Southwestern Assemblies is the only team in the league that is shooting at an above 40 percent from downtown at 41.9, which leads the entire NAIA. The Lions have also been getting the job done from the foul stripe, sitting in second in the SAC in free throw percentage (74.4).
  • Perhaps the biggest reason for SAGU's offensive success has been the play of Bevo Francis Small College Basketball Top 100 Watch List honoree C.J. Hall. The junior guard leads the SAC in scoring (24.1 ppg) while shooting a highly efficient 49.1 percent form the field and 43.2 percent from three-point range. Despite losing another star in Cortland Blake just four games into the season, the Lions have rallied around other guys stepping up, such as graduate student guard Noah Boling, who not only provides a major threat from behind the arc, but is also a hard-nosed man-to-man defender.
  • While Mid-America Christian does lead in the all-time series, the Evangels have been challenged to find a win against Southwestern Assemblies over the past two seasons with SAGU winning the last three meetings. In their last meeting against SAGU inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 11, 2023, the Evangels put up a tough fight against the Lions as Eylan Goodwyn finished with 21 points on a stellar 8-of-9 shooting while Conner Calavan put up 18 points on 4-of-7 from three, but the Evangels couldn't keep up in the 84-74 defeat.

UNT Dallas

• Record: 4-8 (3-6 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at No. 23 Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 85-55 – Jan. 13, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2021-): MACU leads 5-0
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 70-68 (OT) – Feb. 9, 2023 – Dallas
• Series Streak: MACU won 5
• Players to Watch:
  • Vernon Johnson – JR – G
    • 172 Points (14.3 ppg), 55-100 FG (55.0%), 11-19 3FG (57.9%), 51-72 FT (70.8%), 86 Reb (7.2 rpg), 30 Assists (2.5 apg), 35 Steals (2.9 spg)
  • Tariq Aman – SR – G
    • 158 Points (13.2 ppg), 54-128 FG (42.2%), 13-43 3FG (30.2%), 37-44 FT (84.1%), 21 Reb (1.8 rpg), 33 Assists (2.8 apg)
  • Kanntrell Burney – SR – G
    • 124 Points (10.3 ppg), 45-114 FG (39.5%), 20-57 3FG (35.1%), 14-20 FT (70.0%), 36 Reb (3.0 rpg), 18 Assists (1.5 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • After putting together a strong start to 2024, suffering just a 65-64 home loss to John Brown on Jan. 4 and picking up back-to-back wins against Oklahoma City (85-72) and Oklahoma Panhandle State (73-61), UNT Dallas had a tough outing at Wayland Baptist on Saturday as the Trailblazers fell 85-55.
  • UNTD comes into its matchup at Southwestern Christian ranking eighth in the SAC in both scoring offense (73.2 ppg) and scoring defense (75.2 ppg). One of the big Achilles' Heels for the Trailblazers this season has been their three-point defense as they boast a league-worst 36.7 percent.
  • Despite their offensive struggles, the Trailblazers are represented by an outstanding all-around junior guard in Vernon Johnson. Coming into the week, Johnson is averaging 14.3 ppg on a stellar 55 percent shooting clip and while he doesn't shoot many threes, he knocks down an efficient 57.9 percent of those attempts. Johnson also leads the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg) while also boasting 2.5 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
  • Mid-America Christian does hold a 5-0 record against UNT Dallas since the Trailblazers joined the SAC in 2021, but their last meeting back on Feb. 9, 2023 came down to the wire. The Evangels had to battle back from a double-digit deficit before taking the game to overtime. In that win, MACU came up with two huge defensive stops in the final minute of OT to pull out the hard-fought 70-68 victory. In that win, Seth Hurd finished with a double-double, turning in 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with 11 boards.