OKLAHOMA CITY – After suffering its first loss of the season on Saturday, the MACU Men's Basketball team will be seeking to bounce back in its return home on Monday night as the Evangels host Central Christian for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 4-1 (1-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at (RV) Nelson – 73-66 – Nov. 16, 2024 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Josiah Fulcher (95, 19.0 ppg), Juwan White (76, 15.2 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (Min. 3 FGM/G): Juwan White (60.9, 28-46), Josiah Fulcher (58.2, 39-67)
  • 3FG Percentage (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Juwan White (47.4, 9-19), Josiah Fulcher (39.3, 11-28)
  • FT Percentage (Min. 2 FTM/G): Juwan White (84.6, 11-13)
  • Rebounds: Tarrence Gaines (36, 7.2 rpg), Josiah Fulcher (29, 5.8 rpg)
  • Assists: Juwan White (23, 4.6 apg), Josiah Fulcher (15, 3.0 apg)
  • Steals: Zander Baker (10, 2.0 spg), Magok Manyang (8, 1.6 spg)
  • Blocks: Magok Manyang (4, 0.8 bpg), Keeshawn Mason (3, 0.6 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian was unable to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit at Nelson on Saturday as the Evangels were able to catch fire from behind the arc in the second half, shooting 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) from range. However, the Evangels defensively were unable to slow down Nelson enough to make a strong enough run as MACU fell 73-66 inside the Sheaffer Center.
  • One of the challenges offensively for MACU in the loss was that they were not able to get to the free throw line as the Evangels were held to a season-low seven free throw attempts and only converted on two tosses. It was the fewest made foul shots in a game for MACU since going 1-for-7 in an 82-76 home loss to Texas Wesleyan on Jan. 31, 2019.
  • Even though it was a tough offensive performance from MACU as a whole, the Evangels did get two solid outings from its top two players in Josiah Fulcher (18) and Juwan White, who combined to score 33 points on 13-of-27 shooting and went 6-for-14 for three. However, MACU was unable to have anyone else break into double-figure scoring
  • One positive to take away from the result at Nelson was that it was still able to win the glass, out-rebounding the Lions by a 38-30 margin. Overall, MACU holds one of the best rebounding margins of any team in the NAIA as their 14.2 edge on the glass ranks as the best in the SAC and the eighth-best in the country.

SCOUTING REPORT
Central Christian (Kan.)

• Record: 6-0 (2-0 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Wayland Baptist – 60-58 – Nov. 16, 2024 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2003-): MACU leads 18-2
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 85-78 – Feb. 19, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Series Streak: MACU won 3
• Players to Watch:
  • Chris Whitten – JR – G
    • 127 Points (21.2 ppg), 43-96 FG (44.8%), 19-44 3FG (43.2%), 22-29 FT (75.9%), 34 Reb (5.7 rpg), 7 Assists (1.2 apg)
  • Jevarrick Butler – SR – G
    • 70 Points (14.0 ppg), 22-60 FG (36.7%), 8-24 3FG (33.3%), 18-20 FT (90.0%), 32 Reb (6.4 rpg), 10 Assists (2.0 apg), 13 Steals (2.6 spg)
  • Omari Maulana – SR – G
    • 80 Points (13.3 ppg), 27-65 FG (41.5%), 9-30 3FG (30.0%), 17-23 FT (73.9%), 21 Reb (3.5 rpg), 20 Assists (3.3 apg), 5 Steals (0.8 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Central Christian is currently in the midst of one of its best starts in program history as the Tigers are 6-0 to start the season and are coming off two huge road wins at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Thursday and even more impressively, getting a 60-58 victory against a Wayland Baptist team on Saturday that was able to knock off No. 1 Langston on Thursday night.
  • One of the biggest factors behind CCCK's success has been the team's ability to get to the free throw line as not only do the Tigers rank second in the SAC in made free throws (100), but are also shooting the third-highest percentage in the league (73.0). Central has also been effective from the three-point arc as the Tigers are also boasting the third-highest three-point percentage in the conference (38.3).
  • One of the features that makes the Tigers a strong squad is that it a team loaded with chemistry with many of its best players returning from the last two seasons with five of its top six scorers being returners. One of those said returners is junior guard Chris Whitten, who has been one of the SAC's top scorers the last two seasons. So far this year, Whitten is averaging 21.2 ppg and has been lethal from downtown, averaging more than three made triples per game.
  • Even though Mid-America Christian has dominated the all-time series since 2003, the matchups the past two seasons have been close contests with all four games being decided by 10 points or less. In last season's meeting the Evangels survived a scare inside the Gaulke as Seth Hurd powered in the would-be game-winning layup with 26 seconds left before converting on a pair of foul shots after getting a defensive stop on the ensuing possession as MACU survived with a 76-75 win on Jan. 6 before getting an 85-78 victory in McPherson on Feb. 19.