LANGSTON, Okla.– The MACU Men's Basketball team went blow-for-blow for all 40 minutes against the No. 1 Langston Lions inside the C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. The Evangels had a couple of leads in the second half but some late clutch shooting from the free throw propelled the Lions to 65-61 win.  
 
TOP PERFORMERS 

• Josiah Fulcher – 16 Points, 6-9 FG, 4-4 FT, 5 Reb 
• Juwan White – 12 Points, 3-8 FG, 6-8 FT 
• Magok Manyang – 8 Points, 3-9 FG, 11 Reb
• Keeshawn Mason – 10 Points, 5-9 FG  

GAME SUMMARY 

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian (6-3, 3-3 SAC) opened the contest surrendering two quick three-point shots to Langston (6-2, 3-2 SAC) guard Daylon Andrews, but Keeshawn Mason 1:48 in put the Evangels in the scoring column connecting for back-to-back buckets inside the paint to cut the Lions lead to 6-4.
  • The two teams went blow-for-blow over the next five minutes with Langston going on a slight 6-2 run in the process, however, Juwan White nailed a pair from the free throw line to bring it back to a one score game at 15-12 with just under 14 minutes to go
  • A foul by Langston's Bryce Monroe allowed Josiah Fulcher to knock down a set of free throws. However, the Lions struck for eight-unanswered as a corner three from Amoro Lado provided a 29-18 lead for Langston with 6:53 to play. 
  • With 3:51 remaining, a mid-range jumper by Monroe got the lead back up to double-digits, after the run the Evangels defense adjusted keeping the Lions scoreless to end the half while putting up six in the process. The surge was capped off on White's powerful drive to the rack going up with a left-handed finger roll to make it 34-30 with 1:26 remaining where things held going into the halftime break.  

• Second Half 
  • Two-and-a-half minutes into the half, White found a wide-open Tarrence Gaines in the right corner to drill a three. White stayed productive from the floor, taking a pair of trips to line going 3-of-4 to put the Evangels up for the first time with a slight 38-37 advantage at the 16:28 mark. 
  • After being held scoreless for just over five minutes, the Lions recaptured the lead off a spin move lay off the glass by Joshua Smith, who scored six-straight Lions points during a 9-2 run that set the score to 46-40 with 9:40 left.  
  • MACU brought it back to a one-possession game on the dime from Fulcher who found Mason on the give-and-go cut to the basket making it 50-48 LU with 6:51 remaining.  
  • With just under six minutes left and the shot clock dwindling down, Fulcher was forced to heave a logo three that clanked off the front rim falling into the hands of Magok Manyang, who connected with the put=back to tie it up at 50.  
  • After exchanging buckets for the next four minutes, the Evangels regained the lead when Mason spotted a cutting Manyang for the easy layup to go up 57-56 with 1:59 to go. The lead was short-lived as Monroe banged a three-pointer from the top of the arc 17 seconds later to put Langston up 59-57. After getting a defensive stop, Langston's Monroe followed up with a pair of free throws to give the Lions a four-point advantage with 48 seconds left.  
  • On the ensuing possession, Manyang drove into the lane and got the hoop-and form to put the Evangels down 61-59, but missed the free throw that allowed a LU rebound which forced an intentional foul on Monroe who took another 2-of-2 trip at the line. Mason kept MACU alive scoring off the inbound pass by White with 16 seconds to go to once again make it a one possession game down 63-61, however Monroe sealed the deal with two more free throws to ultimately end things at 65-61.  

GAME NOTES 

• Mid-America Christian shot 21-of-50 (42 percent) from the field (42 percent) as well as very efficient 18-of-22 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe compared to Langston's 24-of-56 (42.9 percent) and 11-for-13 (84.6 percent) on free throws. The difference maker was behind the arc as the Lions shot 6-for-18 (33 percent) compared to the Evangels, who shot a season-low 1-of-17 (5.9 percent) from behind the arc.
• MACU had a chance to win it down the stretch as they led 57-56 with 1:59 to play, but could not stop Bryce Monroe who scored the last nine points for the Lions with six (6-of-6) coming on free throws.    
• Josiah Fulcher led the scoring for the Evangels with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. MACU's leading scorer this season has scored 16 or more in eight-straight games.  
• Magok Manyang, coming off a career-high in points (23) was tamed a bit from the floor, finishing with his second-lowest scoring performance of the season with eight points, but dominated the glass with a game-high 11 rebounds falling a bucket short of a double-double.  
• Keeshawn Mason was the other Evangel who had double-digits in the scoring column with 10 points on 5-for-9 from the field. 
• Despite putting up a tough fight against the top-ranked team in the country, the Evangels are still searching for their first road victory of the season as they fell to 0-3 on the season away from the Gaulke Activity Center. 
• The loss brings a now six-game skid against Langston with the last win coming on Feb. 19, 2022 in the 98-63 victory at C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse.  

UP NEXT 

• Mid-America Christian will take some time off following Thanksgiving week with the next contest slated for Thursday, Dec. 12 taking on SAC rival Southwestern Christian inside the Gaulke Activity Center.