POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The MACU Men's Basketball team extended its win streak to eight before heading into its bye week as six Evangels scored in double-figures to come away with an 85-77 victory over College of the Ozarks inside Keeter Gymnasium on Saturday evening.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Juwan White – 18 Points, 5-10 FG, 8-8 FT, 3 Assists, 2 Reb, 2 Steals
• Tarrence Gaines – 14 Points, 5-10 FG, 2-6 3FG, 2-2 FT, 4 Reb, 2 Assists
• Josiah Fulcher – 12 Points, 5-11 FG, 3 Reb, 3 Assists
• Magok Manyang – 12 Points, 3-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 4-8 FT, 8 Reb, 2 Blocks

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • It was a low scoring game in the early going as a Jay Baxter three with 18:19 to go briefly gave College of the Ozarks (8-13, 6-12 SAC), but Mid-America Christian (18-5, 14-5 SAC) gained the momentum by scoring seven of the next 10 as Tarrence Gaines buried a three-ball to give the Evangels a 9-6 edge with 15:45 left.
  • The Evangels and Bobcats went blow-for-blow over the next four minutes before Zander Baker knocked down a step-back three from the top of the key with 11:34 to go to jumpstart a 12-0 MACU surge capped off on Marque Wilkerson's floater in the paint swelled the lead to 28-15 with 7:42 remaining.
  • COFO chipped away at the MACU edge over the next two minutes, scoring 10 of the next 12 points as a Jay Baxter jumper at the 5:49 mark closed it to 30-25.
  • Gaines scored the next five points for MACU to push it back to double-figures before the Bobcats answered back over the final four minutes of the half, closing it out with a 10-4 run as a Kyle Flavin three with 53 seconds to go made it 39-35 at the break.
• Second Half
  • Mid-America Christian set the tone to start the second half, opening the stanza with a 12-4 streak finished off on Josiah Fulcher's left corner triple, giving MACU a 51-39 advantage.
  • Following a pair of Baxter free throws, the Evangels captured their largest lead of the game on a Keeshawn Mason left elbow jumper and Juwan White's steal and fastbreak layup with 16:50 left to make it 55-41.
  • Every time College of the Ozarks tried to go on a run, MACU had a counterpunch as the Bobcats were unable to shrink MACU's lead down to less than eight until Caleb Faulkner knocked down a right corner three with 7:13 left to set the score to 67-60.
  • With 4:20 to go, Fulcher gave momentum back to MACU by finishing off a three-point play as the Evangels scored seven of the next nine in a crucial part of the game to stretch the lead back to 79-67 at the 2:29 mark on a pair of White free throws.
  • College of the Ozarks was unable to knock it down to less than an eight-point MACU lead the rest of the way as Faulkner's three with four seconds left wrapped up the scoring at 85-77.

GAME NOTES

• It was an efficient shooting day for Mid-America Christian as the Evangels shot 30-for-60 (50 percent) and 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from three while also effectively knocking down 17-for-21 (81 percent) from the free throw line.
• College of the Ozarks also shot the ball well against the Evangels as they ultimately finished 27-of-55 (49.1 percent) and 12-for-29 (41.4 percent) from three as well as 11-for-13 (84.6 percent) from the foul stripe.
• The turnover battle played a major factor in the result as MACU committed a season-low six turnovers while forcing the Bobcats into 14 giveaways to lead to an astounding 21-5 differential in points off turnovers.
• Mid-America Christian held a slight control of the glass, outrebounding COFO 31-28 with a 9-6 edge on the offensive glass.
• The Evangels put together a balanced scoring effort with six players scoring in double-figures. Juwan White led the way for MACU with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting while going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line while tallying three assists and a pair of steals.
• Tarrence Gaines turned in a 14-point performance on 5-for-10 from the field, 2-of-6 from three and a pair of foul shots to go with four rebounds and two dimes.
• Josiah Fulcher and Magok Manyang each notched 12 points with Fulcher finishing 5-for-11 with three boards and three assists while Manyang converted 3-for-6 from the floor, 2-of-3 from three and 4-for-8 from the stripe with a team-high eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
• Rounding out MACU's double-digit scorers was Keeshawn Mason with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with four rebounds while Zander Baker provided a spark off the bench with his 10 coming off a perfect 3-for-3, two of which from range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line to go along with six rebounds.
• After getting a 67-63 win over COFO inside the Gaulke Activity Center back on Nov. 23, the Evangels completed the series sweep over the Bobcats in their first year in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will get some rest during its bye week before preparing to head to McPherson, Kansas on Monday, Feb. 10 for an 8 pm tip-off against Central Christian inside Jerry E. Alexander Arena.