OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU men's basketball team will finish out the regular season this week as the Evangels host Oklahoma City for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center tonight before heading to Siloam Springs, Arkansas on Saturday for a 3:45 p.m. tip-off against John Brown inside Bill George Arena.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 19-7 (15-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Central Christian – 85-78 – Feb. 19, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Mikel Henderson (306, 11.8 ppg), Seth Hurd (303, 12.1 ppg), Eddie Smith (256, 10.7 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Quentin Woodson (71.4, 50-70), Seth Hurd (57.8, 130-225), DeAngelo Adkins (45.8, 81-177)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Conner Calavan (39.4, 28-71), Eddie Smith (38.1, 37-97), Mikel Henderson (37.4, 58-155)
  • Free Throw Percentage (%, M-A): Mikel Henderson (80.0, 48-60), Magok Manyang (77.1, 54-70), Eddie Smith (70.9, 39-55)
  • Rebounds: DeAngelo Adkins (175, 6.7 rpg), Magok Manyang (155, 6.0 rpg), Seth Hurd (107, 4.3 rpg)
  • Assists: Jasiah Lewis (117, 4.5 apg), Eddie Smith (63, 2.6 apg), Mikel Henderson (63, 2.4 apg)
  • Steals: DeAngelo Adkins (42, 1.6 spg), Jasiah Lewis (31, 1.2 spg), Eddie Smith (28, 1.2 spg)
  • Blocks: Magok Manyang (36, 1.4 bpg), DeAngelo Adkins (19, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian picked up a big road win on Monday as the Evangels held off a late rally by Central Christian by putting together two huge defensive stops in the final minute and putting the game away from the foul line for the 85-78 victory inside Jerry Alexander Arena.
  • By getting that road win, the Evangels improved to 15-5 in Sooner Athletic Conference play, marking just the second time in program history that MACU had achieved 15 or league wins. The last time it happened came during the 2019-20 campaign where the Evangels went 19-1 in winning its second SAC regular season crown.
  • Once again, it was senior guard Mikel Henderson that came up with a huge bucket in the final minute. With MACU winding the clock down as far as it could, Henderson drove down the left side and scooped in the layup to beat the shot clock, extending the Evangels' edge to 81-74 with 56 seconds left.
  • By notching five assists in the contest, senior guard Jasiah Lewis moved into the program's NAIA Era (2007-present) career top 10 list, surpassing Camilo Valencia in 10^th at 198 and needs 14 more to catch Corey Raney at ninth.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma City

• Record: 9-17 (7-13 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Science & Arts (Okla.) – 80-72 – Feb. 17, 2024 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2003-): OCU leads 21-17
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 79-65 – Jan. 11, 2024 – Oklahoma City (Abe Lemons Arena)
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Brandon Jackson – SR – F
    • 426 Points (16.4 ppg), 138-354 FG (39.0%), 52-171 3FG (30.4%), 98-115 FT (85.2%), 174 Reb (6.7 rpg), 31 Assists (1.2 apg), 26 Steals (1.0 spg), 16 Blocks (0.6 bpg)
  • Avery Jackson – SO – G
    • 405 Points (16.2 ppg), 125-327 FG (38.2%), 42-146 3FG (28.8%), 113-138 FT (81.9%), 128 Reb (5.1 rpg), 37 Assists (1.5 apg)
  • Yorgio Golesis – FR – G
    • 281 Points (10.8 ppg), 102-268 FG (38.1%), 65-93 FT (69.9%), 81 Reb (3.1 rpg), 82 Assists (3.2 apg), 34 Steals (1.3 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Winners of three of their last four, Oklahoma City is coming off an 80-72 home win against Science & Arts on Saturday after suffering a 72-53 road loss at Texas Wesleyan on Feb. 15. The Stars have been a far better team on its home court this season, holding a 7-9 record inside Abe Lemons Arena while going 2-8 on the road.
  • Offensively, the Stars sit around the middle of the pack in scoring offense (73.1 ppg) at seventh while ranking ninth in scoring defense (78.9 ppg). OCU's biggest woes have come from behind the arc as the Stars rank last in the SAC in three-point percentage (29.1) and second-to-last in field goal percentage (39.7), but are a solid free throw shooting team in fourth at 74.3 percent.
  • A bulk load of OCU's offense runs through the Jackson tandem of senior forward Brandon Jackson and sophomore guard Avery Jackson. Brandon Jackson enters tonight's contest averaging 16.4 ppg on a 39 percent shooting clip and 30.4 percent from the three-point arc while Avery Jackson averages 16.2 ppg on 38.2 percent shooting, going 28.8 percent from the three-point arc.
  • In their meeting inside Abe Lemons Arena back on Jan. 11, MACU's defense held Oklahoma City to just 32.8 percent shooting as the Evangels pulled away with the 79-65 victory. Mikel Henderson led four Evangels in double-figures with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, going 3-for-7 from beyond the arc.

John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 14-11 (12-8 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Texas Wesleyan – 78-69 – Feb. 17, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): JBU leads 19-15
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 70-54 – Jan. 13, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Drew Miller – JR – G
    • 365 Points (14.6 ppg), 120-299 FG (40.1%), 65-188 3FG (34.6%), 60-81 FT (74.1%), 180 Reb (7.1 rpg), 33 Assists (1.3 apg), 25 Steals (1.0 spg)
  • Malachi Reeves – SO – G
    • 327 Points (13.1 ppg), 113-289 FG (39.1%), 44-130 3FG (33.8%), 57-80 FT (71.3%), 135 Reb (5.4 rpg), 89 Assists (3.6 apg)
  • Tyren Collins – SR – F
    • 247 Points (9.9 ppg), 86-212 FG (40.6%), 25-77 3FG (32.5%), 50-68 FT (73.5%), 141 Reb (5.6 rpg), 27 Assists (1.1 apg), 16 Blocks (0.6 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • John Brown bounced back from a tough 82-59 loss at Science & Arts last week with a 78-69 home win over Texas Wesleyan inside Bill George Arena on Saturday. Drew Miller caught fire from behind the arc for the Golden Eagles, going 5-for-10 from downtown while leading four JBU players in double-figures with 21 points.
  • The Golden Eagles have struggled a bit on the offensive end in 2023-24, ranking 10^th in the SAC in scoring offense (69.0 ppg) while posting a league-worst 39.6 percent shooting clip. However, JBU has put together a winning season thus far behind their strong defense as JBU ranks fifth in the league in scoring defense (71.7 ppg) on the fifth-best field goal percentage defense (42.6).
  • The JBU offense will run primarily through its guard tandem of Drew Miller and Malachi Reeves. Miller has been the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.6 ppg on a 40.1 percent shooting rate, going 34.6 percent from three-point range while Reeves comes into the week averaging 13.1 ppg and is the team's leading distributor with 89 assists.
  • Mid-America Christian defensively frustrated John Brown in their meeting inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 13. In MACU's 70-54 victory, the Evangels forced JBU into committing 26 turnovers and just 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) shooting from the three-point arc while six Evangels scored eight or more points in the win.