OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team put up a tough fight against the second-ranked team in the country in its first game of 2024, but Langston pulled away late with a 79-60 win over the Evangels inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Eddie Smith – 14 Points, 6-12 FG, 2-5 3 FG, 3 Reb, 2 Assists
• Jasiah Lewis – 13 Points, 2-5 FG, 8-8 FT, 3 Reb, 3 Assists
• Mikel Henderson – 10 Points, 2-6 FG, 5-6 FT

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Langston (12-0, 6-0 SAC) got off to a strong start, scoring the first seven points before eventually stretching its lead to 11-2 on a pair of Anthony Roy free throws with 15:50 remaining.
  • Eddie Smith ignited some life into Mid-America Christian (6-5, 2-3 SAC) after burying a long range three from the left wing on the ensuing possession as the Evangels scored eight of the next 10 behind Mikel Henderson's three and pair of free throws with 12:35 left to make it 13-10.
  • The Lions countered with an 8-2 run of their own over the next two minutes to extend their lead back to nine, but a Tarrence Gaines left-corner three stemmed the tide as the Evangels went on a 12-2 streak with Smith putting MACU in-front 24-23 with a tightly contested left-wing three with 7:26 to go.
  • Langston scored the next five as a pair of Anthony Roy free throws put the Lions back in-front before G'Quavious Lennox three-ball stretched the lead to four, but Henderson was able to drive down the left lane and throw up a tough left-handed layup to beat the shot clock, cutting the LU edge down to 28-26 at the 4:41 mark.
  • The Lions managed to take their largest lead of the half behind an 8-0 surge with Ronald Mitchell's triple with 1:32 to go making it a 38-28 contest, however, the Evangels were able to build some momentum before the break as a pair of free throws each from Jasiah Lewis and Henderson closed it to a 38-32 game heading into the half.
• Second Half
  • On MACU's first possession of the second half, Lewis buried a shot clock-beating pull-up right elbow jumper to briefly cut it to a four-point game, but Langston swung back with an 8-1 run capped off on a Lennox four-point play with 17:05 remaining to make it 46-35.
  • Two more Lewis free throws and a Magok Manyang fastbreak layup briefly trimmed it down to a seven-point contest, but Langston's defense managed to hold the Evangels to just three points over the next seven minutes as the Lions extended their lead back to 56-42 on Lennox's breakaway layup with 10:36 to go.
  • DeAngelo Adkins finally snapped MACU's cold streak with a pull-up three from the top of the key with 8:49 remaining.
  • The two squads traded threes around the five-minute mark as Adkins buried another three with 5:24 to go before Chereef Knox answered with a three of his own on the ensuing possession. However, Lewis answered right back by knocking down a right corner three with 4:54 left to set the score to 63-51.
  • However, the Evangels were unable to climb any closer following an immediate timeout taken by MACU head coach Josh Gamblin as Langston pulled away down the stretch to eventually come away with the 79-60 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Facing one of the best defenses in the nation, Mid-America Christian managed to shoot 18-for-45 (40 percent), converting on solid 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from three and went a blistering 16-for-19 (84.2 percent) from the free throw line.
• In a contest with few possessions, the Evangels struggled to slow down Langston's highly efficient offense as the Lions finished 28-of-52 (53.8 percent) from the field, 11-of-25 (44 percent) from three and shot 12-for-20 (60 percent) from the charity stripe.
• Floor game played a key piece in the result as Langston won the glass by a 34-28 margin and also committed just 10 turnovers while forcing 17 MACU giveaways.
• Eddie Smith led three Evangels into double-figures, scoring a team-high 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting and went 2-for-5 from three to go with three boards and two assists.
• Jasiah Lewis pitched in 13 points on 2-of-5 shooting, but buried all eight of his free throw attempts to go with three rebounds and a team-high three assists.
• Mikel Henderson rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers with 10 points on 2-of-6 from the field, but also shot an efficient 5-for-6 from the line.
• Tarrence Gaines provided a spark off MACU's bench, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in just 14 minutes of action.
• The Lions have now won three-straight games in the series dating back to last season.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be looking to bounce back to wrap-up its five-game road stand as the Evangels will face off against Central Christian for a 3:45 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday.