OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's basketball team was able to put together a great overall team effort with four players scoring 15 points or more to smash Central Christian in an 83-68 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center Monday night.  
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Keeshawn Mason – 21 Points, 7-11 FG, 2-2 3FG, 4 Reb 
• Josiah Fulcher – 17 Points, 5-10 FG, 6-7 FT, 6 Reb, 3 Assists, 2 Steals
• Tarrence Gaines – 16 Points, 6-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 7 Reb, 5 Assists, 2 Steals, 2 Blocks
• Magok Manyang – 16 Points, 6-8 FG, 4-5 3FG, 8 Reb
• Juwan White – 10 Assists, 4 Reb

GAME SUMMARY 

• First Half 
  • It was an emphatic start on the offensive end for Mid-America Christian (5-1, 2-1 SAC) as a Tarrence Gaines mid-ranged jumper plus the foul led to a 9-0 run closed out on a Marque Wilkerson tip-in off his own miss gave MACU an early 19-7 advantage with 14:13 to go. 
  • Central Christian (6-1, 2-1 SAC) and MACU traded buckets over the next four minutes, but a Josiah Fulcher cut to the basket and scored off the dime from Wilkerson to extend MACU's lead to double-digits at 25-15 with 10:21 left. 
  • The Evangels were able to go on another significant surge, outscoring the Tigers 11-1 over a five-minute span that was closed out on a trey from the top of the arc by Keeshawn Mason off Juwan White's dish, giving MACU a commanding to provide a 36-16 advantage with 5:55 remaining.
  • The Tigers adjusted defensively, which kept the Evangels scoreless through the next four minutes while scoring six-unanswered to close it to a 14-point game, but Magok Manyang's offensive rebound and put-back broke the slight drought with 1:59 left in the half to set the score to 38-22.
  • Heading into the final minute, Chris Whitten jumpstarted the Tigers momentum by converting a rare four-point play after being fouled by Zander Baker to cut the MACU lead to 39-28.  
  • With seven seconds remaining, the Evangels were able to close scoring in the half after a loose ball foul allowed Fulcher to knock down a pair of free throws, extending the MACU lead to 43-29 lead heading into half.

• Second Half 
  • After the Tigers scored six of the first nine to start the half, Gaines intercepted a pass to start a fast break opportunity, leading to a corner three-ball from Fulcher at the 17:29 mark that brought the Evangels' lead back up to 14 before Fulcher returned the favor with the steal leading to a fastbreak layup for Gaines with 16:48 to go to make it a 52-35 MACU advantage.
  • Following a pair of Tigers threes from Chris Whitten and Omari Malaga, MACU was able to boost its lead back up to 17 on a 6-0 run of its own that finished off on a jam from Mason on White's ninth assist of the contest to make it 58-41 Evangels with 12:50 left to play.  
  • Central Christian chiseled away at the MACU edge over the next five minutes as a Jaeden Whitten jumper with 7:36 to closed the gap to 66-56 before Manyang countered with a three-pointer fed from White to bring MACU up by 13 with 6:56 left. 
  • Both teams proceeded to go scoreless over the next two-and-a-half minutes, but Fulcher broke the streak with a pair of free throws at the 4:09 mark to start a string of seven-unanswered featuring Fulcher with a showtime fastbreak dunk before Manyang splashed another trey with three minutes to go to extend the advantage to 76-56.
  • A Keyshawn Mason and-one and a Quentin Woodson flush on a Baker assist gave MACU its largest lead of the contest at 83-60 with 1:07 on the clock before the Tigers scored eight-unanswered in the final minute against MACU's reserves to wrap-up the 83-68 final.

GAME NOTES 

• Mid-America Christian put up its second-best offensive performance of the season from the field, going 30-of-58 (51.7 percent) compared to Central Christian's 25-of-57 (43.9 percent).   
• Although the Tigers shot a solid 42.9 percent from three (9-for-21), the Evangels countered with a season-best 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from behind the arc. Magok Manyang (4-for-5) was a big contributor to the three-point success as 12 of his 16 points came off the long ball.   
• The big difference maker was the Evangels ability to score in the paint with a sizable 36-20 advantage while also spreading the rock with 22 assists on their 30 buckets. 
• Keeshawn Mason led the charge with both a game-high and career-high 21 points, surpassing his 19-point performance in the 95-81 win over Randall on Oct. 28. Overall, Mason shot a highly efficient 7-for-11 from the field and went 2-of-2 from the three-point arc while knocking down 5-for-7 from the stripe.
• The Evangels saw four players score 15 or more for the first time this season: Keeshawn Mason (21), Josiah Fulcher (17), Tarrence Gaines (16) and Magok Manyang (16).  
• Gaines had a great all-around floor game by adding seven boards, five assists, two steals and two blocks to his stat line. 
• While MACU's second-leading scorer Juwan White was kept quiet in the scoring column with just two points, he was able to hold a firm command of the offensive by dishing out 10 assists, becoming the first Evangel to notch double-digit assists in a game since Tony Dorsey's 10 in the 80-66 win over Oklahoma City on Jan. 6, 2022.  
• With the victory, MACU improved its win streak against CCCK to four while improving to 19-2 over the Tigers since the 2003-04 season.

UP NEXT 

• After handing the Tigers its first conference loss of the season, Mid-America Christian will look to knock off the last undefeated team in SAC play on Thursday as the Evangels hit the road for Siloam Springs, Arkansas on Thursday for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off against John Brown inside Bill George Arena.