OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball team overcame a sluggish start offensively, exploding for 76 points over the final 27 minutes as the Evangels ran away with a dominant 97-60 victory over Arlington Baptist in its Homecoming game inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday night.

It was a special night for the MACU Men's Basketball program as it held a reunion for the 2016 NAIA National Championship team earlier in the day before being recognized at halftime of the women's game.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 97, Arlington Baptist 60
  • Mid-America Christian (3-0)
  • Arlington Baptist (1-1)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Shannon Strickland – 19 Points, 6-7 FG, 2-3 3FG, 5-5 FT, 4 Reb, 3 Steals
• Clay Baldwin – 15 Points, 5-9 FG, 4-4 FT, 5 Reb, 3 Assists
• Corey Skillman – 14 Points, 5-9 FG, 4-7 3FG, 3 Reb
• James Locke – 13 Points, 4-6 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-3 FT, 5 Reb, 2 Assists

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • It was a sluggish start for Mid-America Christian through the first four minutes as Arlington Baptist jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first minute, but the Evangels defense settled in by holding the Patriots scoreless for the next four minutes as MACU went on an 11-0 run capped off on a Corey Skillman three from the left wing with 15:47 on the clock to make it 11-4.
  • MACU eventually extended its lead to 10 at 16-6 on a pair of James Locke free throws before the Patriots snapped their 8:30 field goal drought with a pair of three-balls from Donte Jones and Malcolm Dalcourt to cut the Evangels' edge to 16-12.
  • Both teams went cold from the floor over the next five minutes with neither team making a field goal until Skillman drained another trey with 7:37 left to ignite a 9-2 surge that he finished off again with his third long ball from the left corner at the 6:49 mark to nearly double MACU's lead at 27-15.
  • ABU's Jamar McCray knocked down a three on the ensuing possession to briefly knock down the MACU advantage to single-digits, but the Evangels defense held strong before the offense could give them some breathing room.
  • With just under three minutes to go, great ball movement around the perimeter set up Clay Baldwin with an open trey from the left wing to ignite an 8-2 surge, finished off on Shannon Strickland's and-one midrange jumper to bring it to 42-26 with 1:31 left.
  • McCray drained another three with just over a minute remaining, but Able Houston sent MACU into the break with the 44-29 advantage at the 49 second mark with a strong layup off an excellent Baldwin feed into the paint.
• Second Half
  • While both sides were relatively even through the first four minutes with the Patriots narrowly outscoring MACU 12-10, Mid-America Christian went on an explosive run over the next nine minutes.
  • Following Strickland's fade away left corner three at the 15:41 mark, the Evangels outscored ABU by an astounding 29-6 margin, burying six three-pointers during this incredible streak as Baldwin's tough right-handed lay-in on the drive fell in to give MACU a commanding 81-47 lead with 6:44 remaining.
  • James Locke was the biggest proponent during that 29-6 run as he personally poured in 12 points on a trio of threes as well as an old-fashioned three-point play.
  • Even though Arlington Baptist converted three free throws during the six-minute mark, the MACU defense once again clamped down on the Patriots, holding them scoreless over a two-and-a-half-minute stretch while MACU rattled off seven-straight behind Zander Baker's long-distance bomb from the right wing before Locke found Baldwin on a fastbreak outlet off the rebound. The transition lay-in gave MACU its first 40-point lead of the contest at 90-50 with 4:28 to go.
  • The Evangels hit a cold spell for a few minutes as the Patriots scored the next five, but MACU took advantage of some opportunities from the foul line in the last two minutes as Jabez Williamson off the bench knocked down a pair before another reserve in Ronnie Lopez gave MACU its largest lead of the game at 97-55 at the 1:12 mark on a sensational left hook shot in the paint.
  • Arlington Baptist scored the final five points in the last minute on a Dalcourt three and a Zion Bourgeois layup to wrap-up the 97-60 final.

GAME NOTES

• For the third-straight game, Mid-America Christian shot 50-percent or better as the Evangels finished 29-for-55 (52.7 percent), including a blistering 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) from three-point range while also knocking down an excellent 26-for-33 (78.8 percent) from the foul line.
• Facing a high-octane offense that scored 89 points in a road win at Paul Quinn (Texas) last Saturday and 91 in hard-fought 108-91 exhibition loss at No. 17 Nelson (Texas) on Oct. 23, the Evangels defense completely stifled the Patriots, holding ABU to only 17-of-60 (28.3 percent) shooting and 6-for-30 (20.0 percent) from behind the arc. A third of ABU's points came from the foul line as the Patriots shot 20-for-31 (64.5 percent) from the stripe.
• Even though ABU outrebounded MACU on the offensive glass (11-9), the Evangels dominated in the defensive rebounding department to hold a 42-29 overall rebounding edge over the Patriots.
• While it was a tough offensive night for MACU's leading scorer Morris Williams, the Evangels' sensational offensive balance proved to be the biggest factor. Shannon Strickland led the offensive charge, scoring a MACU career-high 19 points on a blistering 6-of-7 shooting, including 2-for-3 from three and went 5-of-5 from the line to go with four boards and a team-high three steals.
• After a tough offensive performance on Thursday against Ozark Christian, Clay Baldwin had a strong bounce-back performance with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and went 4-for-4 from the stripe to go with five boards and three assists.
• Corey Skillman and James Locke were MACU's biggest sparks off the bench as Skillman finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 from the floor and 4-for-7 from three-point range. Locke was also a sniper from downtown, wrapping up his evening with a 4-of-6 shooting clip and 3-for-5 from range while also ripping down five rebounds.
• Williams led MACU on the glass with six boards as five players finished with at least five rebounds while Zander Baker and Demerius Shakur led the distribution efforts with four assists apiece.
• In the inaugural meeting between the two programs, Mid-America Christian came away with the first win to hold the 1-0 lead now in the all-time series.
• The result also allowed the Evangels to accomplish a program first since joining the NAIA in 2007 as it marked the first time MACU has won each of its first three games of the season by 20 or more points.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will wrap-up its four-game home stand on Thursday, Nov. 6 as the Evangels host crosstown foe Randall for a 7 p.m. tipoff inside the Gaulke.