OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball team will be looking to return to the friendly confines of the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday as the Evangels prepare to face Sooner Athletic Conference newcomer College of the Ozarks for a 3:45 p.m. tip-off.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 5-2 (2-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at John Brown – 76-70 – Nov. 21, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Josiah Fulcher (132, 18.9 ppg), Juwan White (94, 13.4 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (Min. 3 FGM/G): Josiah Fulcher (56.5, 52-92), Juwan White (55.7, 34-61)
  • 3FG Percentage (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Juwan White (41.7, 10-24), Josiah Fulcher (40.0, 14-35)
  • FT Percentage (Min. 2 FTM/G): Josiah Fulcher (93.3, 14-15), Juwan White (84.2, 16-19)
  • Rebounds: Tarrence Gaines (46, 6.6 rpg), Josiah Fulcher (41, 5.9 rpg)
  • Assists: Juwan White (34, 4.9 apg), Josiah Fulcher (18, 2.6 apg)
  • Steals: Josiah Fulcher (10, 1.4 spg), Zander Baker (10, 1.4 spg)
  • Blocks: Magok Manyang (7, 1.0 bpg), Tarrence Gaines (5, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian faced a buzz saw from the three-point arc at John Brown on Thursday as the Golden Eagles shot a blistering 12-for-24 from beyond the arc to pull away with a late 76-70 win over the Evangels inside Bill George Arena.
  • Despite coming up short, MACU did once again get two strong offensive performances from its top two scorers in Josiah Fulcher and Juwan White as Fulcher finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting while White poured in 16 points on 5-for-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
  • While MACU has been excellent inside the Gaulke Activity Center, holding a 5-0 record in its home confines, the Evangels have struggled to find a road win after going 0-2 with their losses at Nelson and John Brown.
  • The Evangels have struggled to find an offensive rhythm in both of those road contests as MACU is averaging just 68.0 ppg in its road games while pouring in 86.6 ppg inside the Gaulke, including 79.5 ppg against SAC foes at home.

SCOUTING REPORT
College of the Ozarks

• Record: 3-3 (1-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 67-62 – Nov. 21, 2024 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series vs MACU (2012-): COFO leads 6-3
• Last Game vs MACU: COFO won 104-94 – Nov. 17, 2018 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: COFO won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Andrew Dalton – SO – G
    • 102 Points (17.0 ppg), 32-66 FG (48.5%), 13-33 3FG (39.4%), 25-37 FT (67.6%), 33 Reb (5.5 rpg), 11 Assists (1.8 apg)
  • Garrett Snyder – SO – G
    • 80 Points (13.3 ppg), 28-54 FG (51.9%), 8-16 3FG (50.0%), 16-19 FT (84.2%), 31 Reb (5.2 rpg), 14 Assists (2.3 apg)
  • Caleb Faulkner – SO – G
    • 79 Points (13.2 ppg), 28-63 FG (44.4%), 19-46 3FG (41.3%), 17 Reb (2.8 rpg), 7 Assists (1.2 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • Since opening the season with a pair of wins, College of the Ozarks has hit a bit of a rough patch as the Bobcats have lost three of their last four games. However, their lone win was a stunning one as COFO went into Abe Lemons Arena and upset No. 23 Oklahoma City 87-83 on Monday night. However, the Bobcats lost a tough home game to Southwestern Christian on Thursday, falling 67-62.
  • COFO has been one of the better scoring teams in the SAC this season as the Bobcats are tied with OCU for fourth in the conference at 80.8 ppg while posting the fourth-best shooting percentage (45.8) and third-best three-point percentage (37.8). However, the Bobcats have been suspect on the defensive end, allowing the third-most points (76.3 ppg) on the third-best shooting clip (45.1 percent) and the third-highest three-point average (34.8).
  • The Bobcats big three of sophomore guards Andrew Dalton, Garrett Snyder and Caleb Faulkner have carried the bulk load of COFO's scoring this season as the trio has scored 261 of its 485 points with all three guards scoring better than 13 ppg and shooting above 44 percent from the field.
  • Mid-America Christian and College of the Ozarks will be facing each other for the first time since 2018. The last time the two teams met, it came inside the Gaulke as the Bobcats pulled out the 104-94 win. MACU's last win over COFO came on the big stage as the Evangels came away with an 81-70 victory in the NCCAA National Championships to advance to the 5^th place game.