MBB OCC Postgame - 10-30-25
Kyle Highfill
61
Ozark Christian OCC 0-0
101
Winner Mid-America Christian MACU 2-0
Ozark Christian OCC
0-0
61
Final
101
Mid-America Christian MACU
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Ozark Christian OCC 34 27 61
Mid-America Christian MACU 56 45 101

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

Men’s Basketball Overwhelms Ozark Christian 101-61 Behind Williams 36-Point Night

OKLAHOMA CITY – Redshirt junior forward Morris Williams scored a career-high 36 points, the most points scored by an Evangel since the 2019-20 season as the MACU Men's Basketball team ran away with a 101-61 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
 
SCORE
  • Mid-America Christian 101, Ozark Christian 61
    • Mid-America Christian (2-0)
    • Ozark Christian (0-0)* (exhibition contest for OCC)
TOP PERFORMERS GAME SUMMARY
  • First Half
    • Ozark Christian opened the game with all of the momentum as Trey Martin opened the scoring with a lay-in before Eric Dillinger buried a tightly-contested three from the top of the key with 18:50 left to make it 5-0 OCC.
    • A strong Morris Williams cut and dunk and a pair of Clay Baldwin free throws briefly cut the Ambassadors lead down to one, but OCC quickly stretched their lead to the largest of the game on a Martin midrange jumper and a long-range Carter Brown three from the left wing to make it a 10-4 Ozarks advantage with 17:11, forcing MACU head coach Josh Gamblin to call a timeout.
    • The Ambassadors maintained a one-to-two possession advantage over the next five minutes before the Evangels caught fire. After James Locke calmly ripped down a defensive board before taking it down to the other end on a calm dribble and step-back right baseline jumper at the 12:26 mark, Mid-America Christian went on a commanding 14-1 run capped off on Williams' fastbreak three from the right wing with exactly 10 minutes left in the half to give MACU the 25-17 lead.
    • Brown's three on the ensuing possession did little to quell the Evangels run as MACU continued to keep building behind a 13-3 streak capped off on a strong Williams and-one bucket, extending the advantage to 38-23.
    • While a Dillinger three and a Curtis Davenport layup briefly trimmed the edge down to 38-28 with 5:55 on the clock, the Evangels were quick to build it back up to an 18-point edge on a pair of Williams treys before Zander Baker nabbed a steal and sent an outlet to Williams for the fastbreak slam, setting the score to 46-28 with 4:40 remaining.
    • Even though a pair of Brown triples managed to knock the lead down to 12 with 2:48 to go, Mid-America Christian closed out the half by scoring the final 10 points as Corey Skillman both started and ended the run with his three-ball from the right wing with 37 seconds left made it a 56-34 MACU lead going into the break.
  • Second Half
    • The incredible run carried into the start of the second half as another Williams old-fashioned three-point play and back-to-back Shannon Strickland three-point splashes made it 65-34 with 18:07 on the clock before Main hit a midrange jumper at the 17:33 to snap OCC's scoring drought that lasted 5:15.
    • The overwhelming MACU defense sent the Ambassadors into another scoring drought that lasted 4:52 as the Evangels rattled off another eight-unanswered finished off on Locke's drive down the left paint and strong finish with the right to settle the score to 73-36 with 14:30 to go.
    • After a barrage of traded buckets and free throws between 12:41 and 11:38, Mid-America Christian captured its first 40-point lead when Demerius Shakur hooked a pass to Locke at the top of the key for three, bringing it to 83-43 with 10:08 left.
    • With OCC briefly knocking it down to under 40 on a pair of Danny Foster foul shots with 8:52 remaining, the Evangels made an effective line change that saw MACU rattle off eight-straight on back-to-back Williams buckets and a Clance Crosby lay-in before Strickland picked off a pass to go coast-to-coast for the fastbreak dunk. The play gave MACU its largest lead of the game at 94-47 with 6:05 on the clock.
    • With just over five minutes left in the contest, the Evangels called off the dogs to give their reserves a piece of the action, as Ronnie Lopez and Brandon Hardison each scored a bucket before Tate Campbell hit a three with 1:59 left as MACU closed out with the 101-61 victory.
GAME NOTES
  • Mid-America Christian shot an incredibly efficient rate from the field, going 39-for-78 (50 percent) and 13-of-37 (35.1 percent) from three-point range while Ozark Christian only mustered 21-of-57 (36.8 percent) from the floor, but knocked down a highly-efficient 11-for-27 (40.7 percent) from three-point range.
  • Both teams were disciplined in the foul department as neither side did much damage from the free throw line. MACU finished the contest 10-for-13 (76.9 percent) while the Ambassadors went 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) from the line.
  • The Evangels controlled the glass, outrebounding Ozark Christian 45-33 with an 11-3 edge on the offensive glass, resulting in a 14-6 edge in second-chance scoring for MACU.
  • One of the biggest differences in the contest came in the turnover game as the Evangels forced OCC into 21 turnovers while MACU committed only seven, resulting in a massive 33-2 margin in points off turnovers.
  • It was a special night for redshirt junior forward Morris Williams, who finished the night with a career-high 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting, going 5-for-9 from behind the arc and 3-for-3 from the line to go with an excellent floor game of seven rebounds and four assists to only one turnover.
  • The 14 made field goals for Williams placed him in the program's NAIA Era (2007-present) record book, tying Charlie Shorter, Semar Farris, and Cedric Wright for the third-most made field goals in a single game while the 36 points was the most scored by an Evangel since NAIA All-American Ashford Golden dropped 39 points against Science & Arts on Dec. 13, 2019.
  • James Locke provided a massive spark off the MACU bench, scoring 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field and 2-for-5 from three while also ripping down seven boards and recording three steals.
  • Shannon Strickland and Corey Skillman rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers on the night with Strickland's 11 coming on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three while Skillman finished 4-of-10 and 2-for-5 from downtown.
  • Clance Crosby led MACU on the glass with eight rebounds while Demerius Shakur posted an excellent floor game with a team-high five assists and no turnovers at the point position.
  • With the win, MACU improved to 12-0 against Ozark Christian since the 2003-04 season with it also being the largest margin of victory over the Ambassadors since getting a 108-48 win inside the Gaulke back on Oct. 23, 2021.
UP NEXT
  • Mid-America Christian will be back in-action on Saturday for a very special Homecoming night game against Arlington Baptist. The Evangels will be honoring the 10-Year Anniversary of the 2016 NAIA National Championship team during halftime of the women's game before tipping off the contest at 7 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
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