OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball team will close out its last road swing of the 2025 slate this week as the Evangels take on John Brown at 8 p.m. on Thursday inside Bill George Arena in Siloam Springs, Ark. before heading to Point Lookout, Mo. on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip against College of the Ozarks inside Keeter Gymnasium.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 7-2 (2-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. No. 5 Langston (Okla.) – 69-65 – Dec. 6, 2025 – Oklahoma City (Paycom Center)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Morris Williams (149, 16.6 ppg), Shannon Strickland (124, 13.8 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A; Min 3 FGM/G): Clance Crosby (65.9, 27-41), Shannon Strickland (53.2, 42-79)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A, Min 1 3FGM/G): Shannon Strickland (54.5, 18-33), Morris Williams (42.5, 17-40)
  • Free Throw Percentage (%, M-A, Min 2 FTM/G): Shannon Strickland (88.0, 22-25), Morris Williams (81.8, 36-44)
  • Rebounds: Morris Williams (52, 5.8 rpg), Two Tied (44)
  • Assists: Corey Skillman (17, 1.9 apg), Demerius Shakur (1.9 apg)
  • Steals: Zander Baker (16, 1.8 spg), Two Tied (9)
  • Blocks: Clance Crosby (10, 1.1 bpg), Able Houston (4, 0.4 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off its biggest win of the season when it went into the Paycom Center on Saturday and handed No. 5 Langston its first Sooner Athletic Conference loss of the season as the Evangels came away with the 69-65 win.
  • After scoring only two points in the first half, Morris Williams came out and led the offensive charge for MACU in the second half, netting 20 of the team's 48 points as the Evangels outscored the Lions 48-41 after trailing by three at the halftime break.
  • The Evangels as a whole got back on-track last week, picking up their first SAC wins after starting out 0-2 in league play with losses to Southwestern Christian and Oklahoma City on Nov. 20 and Nov. 22.
  • A big reason for MACU's success last week was due to a much better shooting performance combined between the wins against Central Christian and Langston, combining to go 47-for-89 (52.8 percent) from the field, 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) from three-point range, and shooting a stellar 42-of-52 (80.8 percent) from the free throw line.
  • In earning SAC Defensive Player of the Week, Shannon Strickland posted his first career double-double for the Evangels in the 73-65 win over Central Christian with 16 points and 11 rebounds, 10 of which coming on the defensive end while also netting 14 points in the win over Langston.  Strickland also tallied three steals between the two victories.

SCOUTING REPORT
John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 7-3 (4-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Southwestern Christian – 97-81 – Dec. 6, 2025 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): JBU leads 20-18
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 74-72 – Jan. 30, 2025 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Trae Oetting – JR – G
    • 180 Points (18.0 ppg), 63-147 FG (42.9%), 24-72 3FG (33.3%), 30-39 FT (76.9%), 46 Reb (4.6 rpg), 25 Assists (2.5 apg), 11 Steals (1.1 spg)
  • Donovan Lovelace – SR – F
    • 169 Points (16.9 ppg), 56-104 FG (53.8%), 17-34 3FG (50.0%), 40-51 FT (78.4%), 60 Reb (6.0 rpg)
  • Marko Malekinusic – JR – F
    • 105 Points (10.5 ppg), 31-75 FG (41.3%), 25-61 3FG (41.0%), 18-21 FT (85.7%), 42 Reb (4.2 rpg), 17 Assists (1.7 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • Coming off a pair of strong road victories at Oklahoma City and Southwestern Christian, John Brown enters the slate only a half-game out of the SAC lead with a 4-1 league mark. The Golden Eagles handed the SAC-leading Stars their first defeat of the season by a score of 87-78 inside Abe Lemons Arena on Dec. 4 before pulling out a 97-81 victory over the Eagles inside Pickens-Springer Gym on Dec. 6.
  • The Golden Eagles enter the slate as the fourth-best scoring team in the SAC, averaging 87.2 points per game on the league's fifth-best shooting percentage (47.4) and second-best three-point percentage (37.2). JBU is also incredibly efficient from the foul line, shooting a SAC-best 79.6 percent.
  • Not only is JBU a strong offensive team, but it is also a solid squad on the defensive end, holding its opposition to the fifth-lowest points (71.9) on the second-lowest field goal percentage (40.3) and second-lowest three-point percentage (31.5).
  • Guard Trae Oetting has been putting together a stellar junior campaign so far for the Golden Eagles, leading the team on the offensive end with the league's sixth-best scoring average (18.0 ppg) while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range to go along with a 76.9 percent clip from the foul line.
  • The Evangels and Golden Eagles split the regular season series last season. After leading by four at the half, MACU struggled to slow down John Brown in the second half of last year's contest inside Bill George Arena as JBU outscored the Evangels 49-39 over the final 20 minutes to pull out the 76-70 win on Nov. 2, 2024.

College of the Ozarks

• Record: 2-6 (1-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Oklahoma City – 95-80 – Dec. 6, 2025 – Oklahoma City
• Record vs MACU: COFO leads 6-5
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 85-77 – Feb. 1, 2025 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series Streak: MACU won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Andrew Dalton – JR – G
    • 128 Points (16.0 ppg), 43-92 FG (46.7%), 22-54 3FG (40.7%), 20-26 FT (76.9%), 30 Reb (3.8 rpg), 15 Assists (1.9 apg)
  • Garrett Snyder – JR – G
    • 112 Points (14.0 ppg), 40-84 FG (47.6%), 9-24 3FG (37.5%), 23-28 FT (82.1%), 25 Reb (3.1 rpg), 17 Assists (2.1 apg), 11 Steals (1.4 spg)
  • Jay Baxter – JR – G
    • 72 Points (9.0 ppg), 27-68 FG (39.7%), 12-19 FT (63.2%), 46 Reb (5.8 rpg), 13 Assists (1.6 apg), 11 Blocks (1.4 bpg), 20 Steals (2.5 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Since picking up a 73-56 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State at home to open SAC play on Nov. 20, Ozarks has had a bit of a rough go, losing their last four conference games with their last loss coming by a 95-80 result at Oklahoma City on Dec. 6.
  • The Bobcats have particularly struggled on the offensive end so far this season, ranking second-to-last in the SAC in scoring (70.0 ppg), ranking ninth in field goal percentage (45.8), but shooting the highest three-point clip in the league at 38.6 percent. Meanwhile, COFO ranks in the middle of the pack from the free throw line at 70.2 percent.
  • On the defensive side, COFO is boasting the seventh-best scoring defense at 75.8 ppg, but is allowing the third-highest field goal percentage (46.1) and the second-highest three-point percentage (39.0). The Bobcats have also been challenged on the glass, ranking third-to-last in the league in rebounding margin at -2.6.
  • On the offensive end, the guard duo of Andrew Dalton and Garrett Snyder have led the charge with both averaging a combined 30.0 ppg while both players are shooting better than 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from the three-point arc. Jay Baxter has been the team's best defender this season, leading the team on the glass at 5.8 rpg while averaging an excellent 2.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
  • Mid-America Christian swept the season series a year ago in a pair of close contests. After grinding out a hard-fought 67-63 win inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Nov. 23, 2024, the Evangels had a slightly better road showing inside Keeter Gymnasium as MACU pulled out the 85-77 win on Feb. 1.