OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team put together one of its best defensive games in program history while operating at near peak offensive efficiency inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon as the Evangels ran away with an 82-47 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Seth Hurd – 16 Points, 7-9 FG, 2-2 FT, 6 Reb
• DeAngelo Adkins – 12 Points, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 2 Reb, 2 Steals, 2 Blocks
• Jasiah Lewis – 8 Points, 3-5 FG, 7 Assists, 2 Reb
• Magok Manyang – 8 Points, 3-5 FG, 7 Reb, 5 Blocks

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian (14-5, 10-3 SAC) opened the contest in thunderous fashion as Jasiah Lewis lobbed it to Magok Manyang for the dunk on the opening possession, jumpstarting an 8-2 run that was capped off on a DeAngelo Adkins steal and fastbreak layup with 16:18 to go.
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State (4-14, 2-12 SAC) cut it to a four-point game at 8-4 on Boston Douglas' lay-in with 15:35 left, but that would be the closest OPSU would be able to cut into the MACU advantage throughout the rest of the game.
  • With just over 14 minutes to go, Adkins rattled in a left corner three ignite a downright dominant nine-minute stretch where the Evangels went on a 19-0 run capped off on Conner Calavan's 25-foot three from the right wing to make it a 31-7 lead with 5:22 remaining.
  • At the 4:51 mark, OPSU's Tahki Chievous knocked down a right wing three to beat the shot clock to snap a 9:50 Aggies scoring drought.
  • After Jasiah Lewis and OPSU's Vyson Miller traded threes on back-to-back possessions to make it a 37-15 game with 1:45 left, the Evangels held the Aggies scoreless the rest of the half as an Adkins steal and fastbreak dunk and a Zalek Sharp right corner three with eight seconds left send MACI into the break with the 42-15 advantage.
• Second Half
  • The Evangels managed to push the advantage out to 30 at 45-15 in the early going on Seth Hurd's offensive board and putback with 19:02 remaining before OPSU strung together a 6-1 run over the next four minutes to close it to 46-21 on a Sherlock Padmore free throw with 15:14 on the clock.
  • The MACU defense put together another strong three-minute sequence during a 13-1 streak capped off on Eddie Smith's find of a wide-open Mikel Henderson for the easy fastbreak lay-in to bring it to 59-22 with 12:07 to go.
  • OPSU scored the next six with Abdulh Diaby slamming it down on a fastbreak with just over 11 minutes left before the Evangels swung back with 10-unanswered of their own with Hurd's right-handed hook shot making it a 69-28 game with 8:36 remaining.
  • Adkins gave MACU its largest lead of the game at the 6:33 mark when Quentin Woodson picked up a loose ball in the paint and found the senior big man open in the right corner to bring it to 74-32.
  • The Evangels' last score of the game came in emphatic fashion when Chase Byrne cut in from the left side into the paint and dished it to Woodson for the two-handed flush, making it an 82-42 game with 2:56 to go before ultimately wrapping up the 82-47 final.

GAME NOTES

• As a team, Mid-America Christian finished the contest shooting 32-for-60 (53.3 percent) while going 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from three and 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the line. The Evangels were especially sharp in the first half, going 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) from the field and 6-of-12 (50 percent) from three.
• The Evangels' defense held Oklahoma Panhandle State to just 13-of-56 (23.2 percent) shooting, including 6-for-24 (25 percent) from three as well as forced 23 Aggies turnovers. MACU was especially stellar in shutting down OPSU's top three scorers as Fred Robinson (17.2 ppg) was held to seven points, Joe Greaves (11.8 ppg) was held to eight and Abdulh Dially (10.4 ppg) was contained to just two points.
• The MACU defense tied an NAIA Era (2007-present) program record with nine blocked shots, matching the previous records set against Lincoln (Mo.) on Nov. 21, 2014 and last accomplished against St. Gregory's (Okla.) on Feb. 7, 2015. The 47 points allowed also ended up in the record books as the third-fewest allowed in a single game during the NAIA Era, just three behind last year's record of 44 set against John Brown (Ark.) on Jan. 12 last season in the Gaulke Activity Center.
• Once again, Mid-America Christian showed incredible offensive balance as just two players broke double-figure scoring in MACU's 82-point outing with seven players scoring eight or more points.
• Seth Hurd led MACU's offensive efforts with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and went 2-for-2 from the line to go with six rebounds.
• DeAngelo Adkins was the only other Evangel to break double-digits with 12 points on 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-for-4 from three and 2-of-2 from the stripe to go with a pair of blocks and two steals on the defensive end.
• Magok Manyang put up a stellar stat line with his eight points as the junior forward pulled down a team-high seven boards and rejected five shots, tying the second-most blocks in a single game behind just Chris Runnels, who achieved six blocked shots against Philander Smith (Ark.) on Nov. 14, 2015.
• Jasiah Lewis once again commanded a stellar floor game with eight points, as he dished out seven assists while committing just one turnover. With 82 assists on the season, Lewis has climbed up to No. 3 in the Sooner Athletic Conference league leaders.
• The Evangels avenged their 66-65 heartbreaking loss at Oklahoma Panhandle State in a big way as the 35-point margin of victory was MACU's largest ever in a win over the Aggies.
• With the win and Southwestern Assemblies of God suffering a 79-71 loss at Texas Wesleyan, MACU has moved alone into second in the SAC standings with a 10-3 league mark.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will brace for its third game in six days as the Evangels will be back in-action on Monday for a 6 p.m. tip inside the Gaulke against uptown rival Southwestern Christian.