SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – The MACU Men's Basketball team saw its sensational season come to a tough end in the First Round of the NAIA Tournament on Friday afternoon. The Evangels struggled to slow down seventh-seeded No. 24 Oklahoma Wesleyan in the second half to fall by a score of 80-69 inside De Witt Gymnasium on the campus of Dordt University.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Juwan White – 16 Points, 7-18 FG, 2-5 3FG, 5 Reb, 4 Assists
• Tarrence Gaines – 14 Points, 4-13 FG, 4-8 3FG, 2-2 FT, 8 Reb, 2 Steals
• Josiah Fulcher – 13 Points, 4-11 FG, 4-5 FT, 7 Reb, 2 Assists, 2 Steals
• Keeshawn Mason – 13 Points, 4-7 FG, 4-5 FT, 2 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • After conceding the opening bucket off an offensive board, Mid-America Christian captured its first lead on a pair of threes from Tarrence Gaines in the left corner and a Juwan White triple from the right wing, making it a 6-2 MACU advantage with 18:32 left.
  • The Evangels maintained the lead over the next four minutes before the Eagles tied it at 11-11 on an Evan Williams three from the left side to cap a 5-1 run at the 14:28 mark.
  • MACU captured its largest lead of the half after Gaines knocked down his second three before Josiah Fulcher hit a tough floater between a double team from the left side, setting the score to 16-11 with 13:09 to go.
  • The Evangels struggled on the offensive end over the next five minutes as Oklahoma Wesleyan went on a 6-0 run to capture its first lead on a Derrick Talton Jr. midrange jumper with 9:43 left before White snapped MACU's cold spell with a high degree of difficulty floater in the paint that dropped with 8:34 remaining, giving MACU its last lead of the half at 18-17.
  • The Eagles countered with a 10-2 to grab their largest lead of the half 27-20 on a Nick Bene free throw at the 5:07 mark.
  • The Evangels swung back with an 8-2 run of their own, clawing the deficit down to one on Magok Manyang's three on the right side off a stellar find from White, making it a 29-28 game with 1:45 to go.
  • Mid-America Christian had the opportunity to take the lead with the option to hold for the final shot, but Talton's tight defense forced Fulcher into committing a turnover near the midcourt line and was forced to foul with three seconds left. Talton knocked down both foul shots to extend the Eagles lead to 31-28 at the half.
• Second Half
  • After Gaines buried a three from the left wing to tie the game right out of the break, Oklahoma Wesleyan swung back with an 11-2 run to stretch its lead back out to 42-33 with 14:35 to go on a Jaden Lietzke lay-in from the left block.
  • While White got a nice scoop shot lay-in to briefly stop the bleeding with 13:47 left, the Eagles expanded their advantage to double-digits on a Liezke left side driving dunk before Dylan Phillips buried a three from the right corner, setting the score to 47-35 with 12:52 remaining.
  • OKWU continued to expand its lead over the next few minutes as the Eagles scored eight of the next 11 to grab its largest lead of the game at 55-38 with 10:37 left.
  • Following an Evangels timeout, another long ball by Gaines stemmed the tide as MACU gradually chiseled away at the Eagles lead before Keeshawn Mason splashed a three and then knocked down a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to knock the defict down to single digits 61-52 with 7:37 on the clock.
  • However, Oklahoma Wesleyan kept the Evangels from climbing any closer as the Eagles countered by scoring seven of the next nine to stretch the lead back to 68-54 with 4:33 left off a Jaden Wilson tip-in bucket.
  • MACU eventually managed to knock it back down to nine with 1:54 to go on a Manyang three from the left corner, but the Eagles prevented MACU from rallying as OKWU put the game away from the free throw line to end the contest by a score of 80-69.

GAME NOTES

• After struggling to score in the first half, Mid-America Christian was able to get a little bit more offense in motion in the second half as MACU shot 23-for-56 (41.1 percent) from the field, including 10-of-24 (41.7 percent)
• Despite the offensive improvements from MACU, the Evangels struggled to slow down an Oklahoma Wesleyan team that shot 65 percent form the floor in the second half as the Eagles finished 23-of-51 (45.1 percent) from the field, but only 3-for-20 (15.0 percent).
• One of the biggest differences in the contest was OKWU's ability to get to the line often as the Eagles converted 31-of-40 (77.5 percent) of its free throws while the Evangels shot just 13-for-19 (68.4 percent).
• Facing one of the best rebounding teams in the country, the Evangels struggled to contain OKWU on the glass as the Eagles held the 41-26 rebounding margin, including a 10-5 edge on the offensive glass that resulted in a crucial 17-3 difference in second chance points.
• The Eagles were also able to win the turnover battle, forcing MACU into 13 giveaways while turning it over 10 times in their own right, resulting in a slight 17-12 edge for OKWU in points off turnovers.
• Juwan White led four Evangels into double-figures with 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including going 2-for-5 from three to go with five boards and four assists in 32 minutes of action before fouling out with 3:20 remaining.
• Tarrence Gaines provided a spark for MACU from the outside as the senior guard tallied 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go with a pair of steals on the defensive end.
• Josiah Fulcher and Keeshawn Mason rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers with 13 points apiece as Fulcher shot 4-of-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from the line to go with seven rebounds while Mason tallied his on 4-for-7 shooting and also 4-of-5 from the stripe.
• The result marked the second-straight year the Evangels were eliminated in the NAIA Tournament by Oklahoma Wesleyan after the Eagles handed MACU a 76-58 defeat in the Second Round in Wichita, Kansas on Mar. 16, 2024.
• With the season concluded, White found himself in the program's NAIA Era (2007-present) season record book in four statistical categories, notching the second-highest free throw percentage (84.3, 118-of-140), the eighth-most made free throws (118) as well as the ninth-most assists (124) and assists per game (4.0.)
• Fulcher also finished right behind White in the record book in free throw percentage as his 74-for-88 was good enough for third at 84.1 percent.
• In the career record book, three MACU seniors wrapped up their illustrious careers with some incredible marks.
• Woodson ended his four-year tenure with the program's highest field goal percentage at 57.8 (231-for-400) while also logging the fourth-most games played (122).
• Gaines also narrowly missed breaking the rebounds record with 532, just eight shy of Charlie Shorter (2008-13) to with the sixth-most blocks (64), ninth-most made threes (102) and the 10^th-most games played (107).
• In just two seasons, Magok Manyang tallied a trio of marks for the fourth-most blocked shots (73), the ninth-best three-point percentage (35.7) and the 10^th-highest free throw percentage (73.4).
• Overall, six legendary MACU seniors between Fulcher, Gaines, Manyang, Mason, White and Woodson played their final collegiate games with the Evangels.
• On the whole, Mid-America Christian wraps up another sensational season under 10^th year head coach Josh Gamblin as MACU ends the the year with a 22-9 overall record and finished in a tie for second in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with a 17-7 league mark. The Evangels qualified for their eighth NAIA Tournament in the last 11 years, including in six of the last seven years.