MBB OCC Postgame - 11/2/24
Akira Ono
49
Ozark Christian OCC 0-0
84
Winner Mid-America Christian MACU 3-0
Ozark Christian OCC
0-0
49
Final
84
Mid-America Christian MACU
3-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ozark Christian OCC 21 28 49
Mid-America Christian MACU 45 39 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Reese Cusiter - MACU Sports Information

Men’s Basketball Overwhelms Ozark Christian 84-49 in Huge Homecoming Win

OKLAHOMA CITY – On a special afternoon where Mid-America Christian honored two of its past championship teams, the MACU Men's Basketball team was in championship form on Saturday as the Evangels overwhelmed Ozark Christian on the defensive end to come away with an 84-49 victory on Homecoming inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
At halftime of the contest, MACU held a ceremony to commemorate the 2003 and 2004 NCCAA Division II National Championship teams with legendary former MACU head coach and former Athletic Director Willey Holley and members of those championship teams in-attendance.
 
TOP PERFORMERS  GAME SUMMARY 
  • First Half 
    • Mid-America Christian (3-0) started it off with a phenomenal 16-2 run with Josiah Fulcher and Juwan White combining for 12 of the first 16 points before Shannon Strickland capped the run with a midrange jumper with 14:11 to go.
    • Ozark Christian managed to trim the MACU advantage down to seven with 11:32 left as the Ambassadors put together a 9-2 counter off a trio of three-pointers as Mark Hunter's trey made it an 18-11 ballgame.
    • However, the responded following White's layup 10:24 into the half, sparking a dominant a 13-0 run that that expanded the Evangels advantage to 34-13. During this 13-unanswered point stride that stretched nearly five minutes, the MACU defense put on some tremendous pressure on OCC, forcing the Ambassadors to go 0-for-3 from the field as well as commit three turnovers.  
    • Coming off the bench, both Strickland and Marque Wilkerson contributed nine of the last 15 points over the final 6:46. During that stretch, the duo combined for 6-for-10 shooting.
    • Fulcher with 1:14 left in the half capped off the Evangels lead scoring on a layup off a Keeshawn Mason assist to help MACU take a commanding 45-21 lead into the half.  
  • Second Half 
    • Both teams traded buckets to start the second half as OCC held a slight 10-6 scoring advantage over MACU out of the gate, but that would quickly change with 14:13 to go as redshirt freshman Zander Baker drilled right corner three-ball off the Wilkerson dish to kick off a 17-4 breakaway run for the Evangels over the next four minutes.
    • The 17-4 streak was led by Baker and Wilkerson a Baker had a whopping four steals during the surge transitioning to eight points for Wilkerson, whose offensive board and put-back with just over 10 minutes remaining made it a 68-35 contest.
    • White closed out his strong performance with his 18th point coming on a smooth dribble drive to the basket splitting the defense for a layup with 6:45 left to set the score to 72-39. 
    • The defensive pressure was too much for the Ambassadors as they committed 16 turnovers in the half that led to 18 points off those giveaways for the Evangels.  
    • MACU was able to run away with things with a breakaway slam by Wilkerson with 2:44 left that wrapped up his explosive 14-point second half outburst as MACU ran away with the 84-49 win.
GAME NOTES 
  • Mid-America Christian continued to shoot well from the field, knocking down a solid 46.8 percent (36-of-77) despite struggling from the three-point arc at 17.2 percent (5-for-29).
  • The Evangels defense was a big factor in the win as they forced 27 Ambassadors turnovers while coming up with 17 steals. The 49 points allowed by the MACU defense also tied the fifth-fewest that MACU has allowed in the NAIA Era (2007-present).
  • The great defense translated to offense with MACU scoring 30 points off turnovers compared to Ozark Christian's eight points off 16 MACU giveaways. 
  • MACU also dominated the glass, out-rebounding OCC by a 43-23 with a commanding 17-4 edge on the offensive end. The rebounding was also balanced across the board as five different Evangels recorded five or more rebounds for the first time in its first three games.  
  • Coming off the bench, Marque Wilkerson put up a great performance going (8-for-9) from the field and (4-for-5) at the free throw line to lead all scorers with 20 points with 14 of his points coming in the second half. Wilkerson also fell just two boards shy of a double-double with a team-high eight rebounds on the day. 
  • Juwan White (18 points) and Josiah Fulcher (17 points) continued their strong starts to the season as both shot a stellar 8-for-12 from the field.
  • Zander Baker's six steals were the most in a game by an Evangel dating back nearly a calendar year to DeAngelo Adkin's six-steal performance on Nov. 16, 2023 in the 100-59 win at Randall.
  • Shannon Strickland contributed off the bench as well with 11 points (4-for-10) and four boards.  Overall, the Evangels bench came up huge for MACU as it held a domineering 43-18 lead over the Ozark Christian bench.
  • MACU extended its record to 11-0 all-time against Ozark Christian dating back to 2003 while also being the most lopsided win over the Ambassadors since coming away with a 108-48 victory over OCC inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Oct. 23, 2021.  
UP NEXT 
  • Mid-America Christian will hit the road for the first time this season as the Evangels head to Omaha, Nebraska on Monday, Nov. 4 for an exhibition game against the NCAA Division I Omaha with a 7 p.m. tip-off inside Baxter Arena.
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