OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball team wrapped up the first half of Sooner Athletic Conference play with an impressive victory over the league leader as the Evangels held on for a 71-67 victory over Wayland Baptist inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Tarrence Gaines – 21 Points, 5-10 FG, 3-7 3FG, 8-9 FT, 4 Reb
• Magok Manyang – 15 Points, 3-4 FG, 3-4 3FG, 6-6 FT, 10 Reb, 2 Assists, 2 Steals
• Juwan White – 11 Points, 2-7 FG, 7-10 FT, 6 Assists, 3 Reb
• Josiah Fulcher – 8 Points, 3-7 FG, 2-2 FT, 12 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian (11-5, 7-5 SAC) struggled to get things going offensively through the first few minutes as Wayland Baptist (10-7, 10-3 SAC) jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a Brett Leach three and a Dylan McDougal layup with 18:13 left.
  • Josiah Fulcher and Tarrence Gaines finally got MACU rolling over the next few minutes with the tandem teaming up to score the next seven points to start a 10-2 run as Morris Williams finished it off with the old-fashioned three-point play to make it 10-7 MACU with 14:41 to go.
  • Wayland Baptist netted the next five points to briefly take back the lead before Magok Manyang scored five of his own off a pair of foul shots and a three-pointer from the left corner, jumpstarting a 10-2 Evangels run as Juwan White's free throws with 8:32 stretched the lead to 20-14.
  • Starting with an Alex Rojas three with 7:22 left, the Pioneers strung together 10-unanswered as Quenton Coleman's midrange jumper gave Wayland Baptist the 26-22 advantage at the 5:07 mark.
  • MACU's defense down the stretch was downright stifling as the Evangels held the Pioneers scoreless over the final five minutes. MACU went on a 9-0 run over a two-minute stretch as Josiah Fulcher's lay-in at the 2:24 mark was the final score before heading in the half with the 31-26 lead.
• Second Half
  • After both teams traded the first four points through the first minute-and-a-half, Mid-America Christian stretched its advantage to double-figures with Gaines converting a three-point play before Keeshawn Mason buried a pair of foul shots to make it a 40-30 game with 16:32 left.
  • Wayland Baptist clawed back by scoring seven of the next nine with Adeola Sun's free throws making it 42-37 before MACU swung back with a seven-point run as Morris Williams flushed the dunk off the White lob to stretch the edge to 49-37 at the 12:15 mark.
  • The Pioneers were once again briefly able to knock it back down to a single-digit deficit before MACU countered with five more of its own with Manyang hitting a three and knocking down a pair of throws with 9:42 left to stretch the lead back to 12 at 54-42.
  • A pair of McDougal threes and a James Lee layup allowed the Pioneers to cut it to a two-score game at 54-50 with 7:22 on the clock before MACU pushed it back to eight on a Gaines free throw line jumper that rolled in before Quentin Woodson buried two foul shots to bring to 58-50 at the 5:34 mark.
  • Wayland Baptist cut it to a one-possession game following a 6-1 run capped on Adeola Seun's layup with just over three minutes left, but the Evangels took care of business from the free throw line with Gaines and Manyang combining to go 4-for-4 before White banked in a floater with 1:28 left to stretch the lead back to 65-56.
  • The Pioneers briefly trimmed it to a four-point game on another McDougal three and a pair of Coleman free throws, but MACU was able to run the shot clock down almost completely before Fulcher scooped in an open right-handed layup off a phenomenal backdoor cut and dish from Manyang before coming up with a huge defensive stop.
  • Coleman managed to knock down a long three from the top of the key with 16 seconds left after Gaines buried a pair of foul shots to set it to a 69-64 game.
  • After White went 1-for-2 from the line, Coleman's three on the other end rattled out as Fulcher came down with the defensive board.
  • White was fouled once again on the inbound pass with four seconds left and put the game away from the free throw line by going 1-for-2 before Lee banked in a 30-foot three at the buzzer to wrap up the 71-67 final.

GAME NOTES

• Both teams were relatively even on the offensive end as Mid-America Christian shot 17-for-45 (37.8 percent) from the field while going 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from three while Wayland Baptist finished 22-of-58 (37.9 percent) and knocking down 10-for-32 (31.3 percent) from downtown.
• The Evangels ability to convert from the free throw line played the biggest role in the outcome as MACU converted a season-high 30-for-36 (83.3 percent) while the Pioneers only shot 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) from the stripe.
• After being out-rebounded in the last two games, MACU dominated the glass with a 40-29 edge while Wayland Baptist won the turnover battle by forcing 17 Evangels turnovers to 11 for the Pioneers.
• MACU's defense managed to frustrate one of the top scorers in the NAIA in Quenton Coleman as the SAC's top scorer was held to only 15 points on 4-of-20 shooting, going 2-for-13 from three.
• It was a career day for senior guard Tarrence Gaines, who recorded his first ever 20-plus point performance with a game-high 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-for-7 from three and knocked down 8-of-9 from the line to go with four rebounds.
• Magok Manyang recorded his fifth career double-double after notching 15 points on 3-of-4 from three-point range and converted 6-for-6 from the stripe to go with 10 rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Juwan White rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers with 11 points on 2-of-7 from the field and 7-for-10 from the foul line and dished out a team-high six assists.
• MACU's leading scorer Josiah Fulcher was held to under double-figures for the first time this season with eight points on 3-for-7 shooting, but turned in a career-high 12 rebounds to lead MACU on the glass.
• With the victory, Mid-America Christian has now won three-straight games against the Pioneers.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will look to build some momentum going into the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play as the Evangels will travel to Dallas on Thursday to take on UNT Dallas for an 8 p.m. tip-off inside Ellis Davis Fieldhouse.