OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball team will be looking to stay hot on its home court to start off 2025 as the Evangels host Science & Arts for an 8 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 9-3 (5-3 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Evangel – 73-64 – Dec. 17, 2024 – Springfield, Mo.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Josiah Fulcher (208, 17.3 ppg), Juwan White (152, 12.7 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (Min. 3 FGM/G): Josiah Fulcher (53.0, 80-151), Juwan White (46.9, 53-113)
  • 3FG Percentage (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Josiah Fulcher (40.4, 23-57), Magok Manyang (40.4, 23-57)
  • FT Percentage (Min. 2 FTM/G): Josiah Fulcher (89.3, 25-28), Juwan White (86.1, 31-36)
  • Rebounds: Tarrence Gaines (80, 6.7 rpg), Magok Manyang (79, 6.6 rpg)
  • Assists: Juwan White (51, 4.3 apg), Josiah Fulcher (31, 2.6 apg)
  • Steals: Josiah Fulcher (20, 1.7 spg), Two Tied (12)
  • Blocks: Magok Manyang (13, 1.1 bpg), Tarrence Gaines (8, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Despite losing its first three road games of the season, Mid-America Christian found its stride on the road just before the Christmas break as the Evangels came away with a 69-58 win at Oklahoma City on Dec. 14 before closing out the year with a 73-64 victory in its final non-conference contest at Evangel on Dec. 17.
  • In its last contest against the Valor, the Evangels overcame a six-point deficit with 8:56 left by closing out the game with a 23-8 run, including scoring 12 of the final 15 points over the final four minutes.
  • The Evangels were incredibly balanced in the victory with four players scoring in double-figures with Josiah Fulcher scoring a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting while also being big on the defensive end by coming up with four steals. Even though he had a tough shooting performance, Juwan White came up big when it mattered most, knocking down a deep three with 3:33 to go to stretch the MACU edge to five before knocking down a pair of foul shots with 31 seconds left to finish with 15 points.
  • MACU enters the new year as one of eight teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference with an above .500 record as it currently sits in fifth in the league standings at 5-3 with a 9-3 overall record.

SCOUTING REPORT
Science & Arts

• Record: 5-7 (3-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Northern New Mexico – 77-68 – Dec. 20, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2007-): USAO leads 20-17
• Last Game vs MACU: USAO won 104-89 – Feb. 3, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series Streak: USAO won 9
• Players to Watch:
  • Manny Gatkek – SR – F
    • 112 Points (14.0 ppg), 48-90 FG (53.3%), 8-23 (34.8%), 8-10 FT (80.0%), 53 Reb (6.6 rpg), 13 Assists (1.6 apg), 15 Blocks (1.9 bpg)
  • Ryein Kennedy – SO – G/F
    • 165 Points (13.8 ppg), 51-119 FG (42.9%), 12-37 3FG (32.4%), 51-77 FT (66.2%), 54 Reb (4.5 rpg), 14 Blocks (1.2 bpg)
  • Mohand Ammad – JR – G/F
    • 162 Points (13.5 ppg), 57-122 FG (46.7%), 42-60 FT (70.0%), 60 Reb (5.0 rpg), 16 Assists (1.3 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • Science & Arts snapped a four-game losing streak before heading into the holiday break as the Drovers grounded out a hard-fought 86-85 double overtime win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Dec. 16 before coming away with a 77-68 non-conference victory over Northern New Mexico on Dec. 20.
  • The Drovers rank in the middle of the pack of the SAC offensively, sitting in eighth in scoring offense (74.4 ppg) while boasting the seventh-best field goal percentage (44.6) and the eighth-best three-point percentage (31.9). However, USAO's biggest troubles have come on the defensive end as the worst scoring defense in the conference (79.7 ppg).
  • USAO features a balanced offense that features seven players averaging at least seven players at 5.0 or more points per game with four averaging in double-figures. However, the Drovers have been without their leading scorer Manny Gatkek for the last four games. In his absence, sophomore combo guard Ryein Kennedy has carried the offensive bulk, putting together two 30-plus point performances in the last four contests while Mohand Ammad averaged 13.8 ppg and scored in double-figures in four of the five games during the month of December.
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to shake off a nine-game losing streak to Science & Arts, who are under leadership of first-year head coach Landon Hughey, who is entering his first collegiate head coaching gig after serving six years as an assistant at Wayland Baptist and three seasons at Lubbock Christian. MACU's last win over the Drovers came on Jan. 28, 2020 inside the Gaulke Activity Center as MACU came away with a 98-70 victory.