OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball team will start off Sooner Athletic Conference play inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night as the Evangels host UNT Dallas for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 3-0
• Last Game: Lost at Omaha – 85-69 – Nov. 4, 2024 – Omaha, Neb. (Exhibition)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Josiah Fulcher (52, 17.3 ppg), Juwan White (42, 14.0 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (Min. 3 FGM/G): Juwan White (68.0, 17-25), Josiah Fulcher (65.7, 23-35)
  • 3-PT FG Percentage (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Juwan White (36.4, 4-11), Josiah Fulcher (36.4, 4-11)
  • FT Percentage (Min. 2 FTM/G): Tarrence Gaines (87.5, 7-8), Marque Wilkerson (77.8, 7-9)
  • Rebounds: Tarrence Gaines (24, 8.0 rpg), Josiah Fulcher (19, 6.3 rpg)
  • Assists: Juwan White (17, 5.7 apg), Josiah Fulcher (10, 3.3 apg)
  • Steals: Zander Baker (8, 2.7 spg), Magok Manyang (8, 2.7 spg)
  • Blocks: Magok Manyang (2, 0.7 bpg), Juwan White (2, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian will be competing in its first countable game in the month of November as the Evangels last contest was an exhibition game at NCAA D-I Omaha on Nov. 4. In that contest, MACU put up a very good fight against the Mavericks, even going on a 7-0 run in the second half to cut it to a single-digit deficit on a Josiah Fulcher jumper to make it 67-59 with 9:08 remaining. However UNO was able to hold off MACU for its 85-69 season-opening win.
  • In that contest, MACU got some very strong performances from Fucher and Tarrence Gaines as Fulcher finished the contest with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, going 3-for-5 from three to go with six boards, three assists and three steals. Meanwhile, Gaines ended his night with 18 points on 5-of-9 from the field, including going 4-of-7 from three-point range while also pulling down seven rebounds.
  • MACU's last countable contest was a dominant 84-49 victory over Ozark Christian on Nov. 2 inside the Gaulke Activity Center. In that win, Marque Wilkerson provided a massive spark off the Evangels bench, scoring a career-high 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting and narrowly missed a double-double with eight boards.
  • The Evangels' early season success has stemmed greatly from its sensational floor game as MACU is out-rebounding its completion by a plus-19.0 per game margin while also forcing its opposition into 20.3 turnovers per contest while MACU is giving it away at only a 12.3 per game clip.

SCOUTING REPORT
UNT Dallas

• Record: 3-0
• Last Game: Won at UT Dallas – 77-65 – Nov. 9, 2024 – Richardson, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2022-): MACU leads 7-0
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 84-62 – Feb. 17, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 7
• Players to Watch:
  • Greg Crawford – JR – G/F
    • 56 Points (18.7 ppg), 19-36 FG (52.8%), 18-31 FT (58.1%), 27 Reb (9.0 rpg), 4 Assists (1.3 apg), 2 Blocks (0.7 bpg)
  • Darion Jones – SR – G
    • 53 Points (17.7 ppg), 17-36 FG (47.2%), 4-7 3FG (57.1%), 15-17 FT (88.2%), 27 Reb (9.0 rpg), 5 Assists (1.7 apg), 10 Steals (3.3 spg)
  • Ashton Howard – SR – F
    • 31 Points (15.5 ppg), 12-21 FG (57.1%), 6-7 FT (85.7%), 14 Reb (7.0 rpg), 8 Blocks (4.0 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • UNT Dallas is off to its best start in program history by winning its first three contests, its last coming in a 77-65 win at UT Dallas on Saturday.
  • A big reason for the Trailblazers early season success has been behind a fundamentally sound defense that is allowing only 63.3 points per game on a 39.5 percent shooting clip and are forcing 17.3 turnovers per game.
  • While UNTD doesn't have the highest scoring offense, it has a very dangerous scoring trio in junior combo guard-forward Greg Crawford, senior guard Darion Jones and senior forward Ashton Howard, who are all newcomers to the Trailblazers this season. Crawford and Jones are averaging nearly a double-double with Crawford scoring 18.7 points and pulling down 9.0 rebounds per game while Jones is averaging 17.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest as well.
  • Mid-America Christian has fared well against UNT Dallas head coach Josh Howard's squad since they became a SAC member during the 2021-22 season. MACU holds a 7-0 record all-time against the Trailblazers and in their last meeting inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 17, the Evangels dominated the first half, heading into the break with a commanding 47-21 lead before eventually holding on for the 84-62 win.