OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team will make its way to Waxahachie, Texas on Thursday night for a huge matchup at No. 25 Southwestern Assemblies of God inside the Sheaffer Center at 7:45 p.m. before returning home on Saturday for a 3:45 p.m. tip inside the Gaulke Activity Center against UNT Dallas.

After the completion of the women's game, MACU will hold a Senior Day ceremony to honor its nine graduating seniors: DeAngelo Adkins, John Coons, Tichic Fikipo, Mikel Henderson, Seth Hurd, Jasiah Lewis, Zalek Sharp, Eddie Smith and Quentin Woodson.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 16-7 (12-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at No. 2 Langston – 91-55 – Feb. 8, 2024 – Langston, Okla.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Eddie Smith (254, 11.5 ppg), Seth Hurd (253, 11.5 ppg), Mikel Henderson (249, 10.8 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Seth Hurd (57.0, 110-193), Magok Manyang (47.8, 66-138), DeAngelo Adkins (45.6, 73-160)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Conner Calavan (40.0, 24-60), Eddie Smith (38.5, 37-96), Mikel Henderson (35.0, 49-140)
  • Free Throw Percentage (%, M-A): Mikel Henderson (80.9, 38-47), Magok Manyang (77.4, 48-62), Eddie Smith (70.9, 39-55)
  • Rebounds: DeAngelo Adkins (151, 6.6 rpg), Magok Manyang (134, 5.8 rpg), Seth Hurd (95, 4.3 rpg)
  • Assists: Jasiah Lewis (99, 4.3 apg), Eddie Smith (58, 2.6 apg), Mikel Henderson (58, 2.5 apg)
  • Steals: DeAngelo Adkins (40, 1.7 spg), Jasiah Lewis (28, 1.2 spg), Eddie Smith (27, 1.2 spg)
  • Blocks: Magok Manyang (31, 1.3 bpg), DeAngelo Adkins (18, 0.8 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to try and get back on-track after back-to-back road losses at Science & Arts and No. 2 Langston. The Evangels did battle the Lions tough in the first half last Thursday, trailing just 33-24 at the half but were unable to overcome a big run to start the second half before eventually falling 91-55.
  • One of the top defensive teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference, the Evangels will be attempting to shore things up on the defensive end after allowing 91 points on 54.2 percent shooting from the field and 48.3 percent from three against the Lions as well as 104 points on 55.7 percent shooting, including 64.3 percent from three in the loss to the Drovers.
  • Despite the last two results, the Evangels have gotten some elevated play from senior guard/forward DeAngelo Adkins, who is averaging 14.5 ppg on a 60 percent shooting from the field, including going 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) from three.
  • Entering the final two weeks of the season, the stakes are high for the Evangels as MACU is currently playing for one of the top four spots in the SAC, which will host a conference tournament quarterfinal game. The Evangels currently sit in the No. 4 spot, a half-game back of Southwestern Assemblies of God and Wayland Baptist for second as well as a half-game lead over Science & Arts.

SCOUTING REPORT
No. 25 Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas)

• Record: 17-7 (13-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at John Brown – 85-70 – Feb. 10, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2005-): MACU leads 16-13
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 78-68 – Jan. 18, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • CJ Hall – JR – G
    • 551 Points (23.0 ppg), 203-447 FG (47.5%), 56-137 3FG (40.9%), 89-116 FT (76.7%), 86 Reb (3.6 rpg), 64 Assists (2.7 apg), 29 Steals (1.2 spg)
  • Cortland Blake – SR – F
    • 287 Points (22.1 ppg), 105-195 FG (53.8%), 48-94 3FG (51.1%), 29-40 FT (72.5%), 86 Reb (6.6 rpg), 16 Assists (1.2 apg)
  • Noah Boling – SR – G
    • 246 Points (10.3 ppg), 78-179 FG (43.6%), 45-122 3FG (36.9%), 45-61 FT (73.8%), 61 Reb (2.5 rpg), 92 Assists (3.8 apg), 30 Steals (1.3 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • After suffering a stunning 94-88 road loss at Oklahoma City last Thursday, No. 25 Southwestern Assemblies of God had a strong bounce-back win at John Brown on Saturday. The Lions jumped out to a commanding 15-point lead at the halftime break and never looked back as SAGU cruised to an 85-70 victory.
  • The Lions enter the week as the top scoring team in the SAC, averaging 85.8 ppg on league's best field goal percentage (48.3) while also shooting a blistering conference-best 40.2 percent from three. The Lions are also opportunistic from the foul line, taking advantage of their freebies by converting the second-best percentage from the stripe (75.5).
  • SAGU features the incredibly lethal scoring duo of junior guard CJ Hall and senior forward Cortland Blake. A Bevo Francis Small College Basketball Top 100 Watch List recipient, Hall is the top scorer in the top scorer in the SAC, averaging 23.0 ppg while shooting excellent from all areas of the floor, including 47.5 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from three and 76.7 percent from the foul line. A player that the Lions got back at the break, Cortland Blake has also put up eye-popping numbers, averaging 22.1 ppg on 53.8 percent shooting and 51.1 percent from three while averaging 6.6 rebounds per game.
  • The last time the two teams met back on Jan. 18, the top two players for SAGU met their season averages, but Mid-America Christian was able to neutralize the rest of the Lions roster as everyone outside of Hall and Blake scored a total of 23 points while five Evangels scored in double-figures, led by Eddie Smith with 17 points in an impressive 78-68 victory.

UNT Dallas

• Record: 5-16 (4-14 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Oklahoma City – 73-60 – Feb. 10, 2024 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2021-): MACU leads 6-0
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 72-65 – Jan. 20, 2024 – Dallas
• Series Streak: MACU won 6
• Players to Watch:
  • Vernon Johnson – JR – G
    • 284 Points (13.5 ppg), 99-182 FG (54.4%), 73-109 FT (67.0%), 143 Reb (6.8 rpg), 62 Assists (3.0 apg), 51 Steals (2.4 spg)
  • Tariq Aman – SR – G
    • 264 Points (12.6 ppg), 92-228 FG (40.4%), 21-71 3FG (29.6%), 59-73 FT (80.8%), 38 Reb (1.8 rpg), 49 Assists (2.3 apg)
  • Kanntrell Burney – SR – G
    • 213 Points (10.1 ppg), 79-204 FG (38.7%), 35-100 3FG (35.0%), 20-30 FT (66.7%), 52 Reb (2.5 rpg), 31 Assists (1.5 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • UNT Dallas has had some tough sledding over the past month. The Trailblazers 72-65 home loss to MACU back on Jan. 20 started an eight-game losing streak for UNT Dallas with the latest defeat coming by a score of 73-60 at Oklahoma City last Saturday.
  • Offensively, the Trailblazers rank around the middle of the pack with the eighth-best scoring offense (70.9 ppg) while needing to rely heavily on their ability to get to the basket as UNT ranks 10^th in the conference in three-point shooting percentage (32.5), but have attempted the fewest threes in the league (354), attempting just 16.4 three-point shots per game.
  • A bulk load of UNTD's offense runs through the guard trio of Vernon Johnson, Tariq Aman and Kanntrell Burney. Johnson, the team's leading scorer is a prolific shooter, averaging 13.5 ppg on the fourth-best field goal percentage in the SAC (54.4) while also averaging 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
  • In their earlier season meeting in Dallas, the Trailblazers actually rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to take a 63-60 lead on Cobe Dillard's free throw with 4:09 left in the game. After both teams went back and forth over the next three minutes, Eddie Smith made perhaps the biggest shot of the game with a three from the right wing with 45 seconds left to give MACU a 69-65 advantage. MACU's defense held the Trailblazers scoreless the rest of the way as MACU put the game away from the free throw line for the 72-65 final.