OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team had 10 different players end up in the scoring column, including eight of its nine seniors as the Evangels streaked away with an 84-62 win over UNT Dallas on Senior Day inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Mikel Henderson – 22 Points, 8-11 FG, 3-5 3FG, 3-4 FT, 2 Reb, 2 Assists
• Seth Hurd – 20 Points, 8-11 FG, 4-5 FT, 3 Reb, 2 Steals
• DeAngelo Adkins – 11 Points, 4-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 12 Reb, 2 Assists

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • UNT Dallas (6-17, 5-15 SAC) held the early momentum, scoring the first five points on a Vernon Johnson three on the opening possession before getting a putback at the 18:32 mark. However, Mid-America Christian (18-7, 14-5 SAC) countered with an 8-0 run of its own as DeAngelo Adkins buried a jab-step three from the right corner with 16:46 left to make it an 8-5 game.
  • The Trailblazers scored seven of the next nine to recapture a brief advantage, but another seven-unanswered allowed the Evangels to take the lead for good as Mikel Henderson buried a left-wing three on Jasiah Lewis' save pass from the baseline to bring it to 17-12 with 13:39 to go.
  • Near the midway point, UNTD managed to close it back to a one-point game on a quick turnover-to-turnover exchange as Cobe Dillard quickly stole it away and put it back in on the layup to set it to 20-19 with 10:09 remaining.
  • Mid-America Christian's defense completely clamped down over the next 10 minutes as the Evangels held the Trailblazers to without a point until the final minute as MACU strung together an incredible 25-0 run finished off on Henderson's right-wing floater with 38 seconds left brought it to 45-19.
  • Tariq Aman finally snapped UNTD's cold streak with a left-elbow jumper with 18 seconds to go, but Henderson managed to drive down the lane and scoop in a left-handed layup at the halftime buzzer to send the Evangels into the locker room with the 47-21 lead.
• Second Half
  • Even though Jayden Johnson-Blair knocked down a three early on in the second half for UNT Dallas, the Trailblazers were unable to string together a run to cut into MACU's advantage as the Evangels eventually built their largest lead of the game on Lewis' floating jumper in the paint with 14:36 to go to make it a 59-31 lead.
  • The Trailblazers managed to put together an 11-2 run to knock MACU's edge to under 20 at 61-42 for the first time since two-minute mark in the first half on a pair of Johnson foul shots with 10:32 left.
  • A pair of big Seth Hurd buckets, including a hoop-and-harm on the ensuing possession helped stem the tide with MACU extending its lead back to 66-42 with just under 10 minutes remaining.
  • UNT Dallas chiseled away at the Evangels' edge over the next eight minutes, eventually working it down to 16 on a pair of occasions, the last coming on another Johnson jumper with 2:42 to go, setting the score to 76-60.
  • The Evangels closed out the contest by scoring eight of the final 10 points as a quick inbound to John Coons caught the Trailblazers unaware as his layup with 24 seconds left wrapped up the 84-62 final.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian put together an incredible shooting performance in its Senior Day game, including shooting 64.3 percent from the field and 75 percent from three in the first half as the Evangels finished 33-for-60 (55 percent) from the floor and 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from three while going 11-for-20 (55 percent) from the free throw line.
• The Evangels held UNT Dallas to shooting 24-of-63 (38.1 percent) from the field and 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from the three-point arc while also limiting the Trailblazers' attempts from the free throw line at 7-for-9 (77.8 percent).
• MACU downright dominated on the glass, outrebounding UNTD 48-29 with a 13-6 edge on the offensive glass for an 11-4 edge in second chance points. The Evangels also controlled the paint, outscoring UNT Dallas 40-22 in the area.
• Even though 10 different Evangels scored in the contest, only three reached double-figures in the balanced effort as Mikel Henderson led the efforts with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, going 3-for-5 from three and 3-of-4 from the line.
• Seth Hurd also found himself with a 20-point game on an 8-of-11 shooting performance and converted on 4-for-5 from the foul line while also tallying a pair of steals.
• DeAngelo Adkins notched just his second MACU career double-double in the victory, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three to go with a game-high 12 boards.
• Jasiah Lewis also put together a strong Senior Day game, just narrowly missing double-digits with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting, including going 2-for-3 from three while also dishing out a game-high seven assists to go with a pair of steals.
• Before the game, Mid-America Christian honored its nine graduating seniors: Zalek Sharp, Mikel Henderson, Jasiah Lewis, Eddie Smith, DeAngelo Adkins, Seth Hurd, Quentin Woodson, Tichic Fikipo and John Coons.
• With the win, the Evangels improved to 7-0 all-time against the Trailblazers since UNT Dallas joined the Sooner Athletic Conference in 2021.
• The victory also allowed MACU to maintain its lead for second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings at 14-5, sitting a half-game ahead of No. 25 Southwestern Assemblies of God and Wayland Baptist (14-6) with three games left in the conference slate.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back on the road on Monday as the Evangels will head up to McPherson, Kansas for a re-scheduled game against Central Christian. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. inside Jerry Alexander Arena.