OKLAHOMA CITY – Despite trailing by 11 heading into the halftime break, Mid-America Christian weathered the storm and put together a strong second half rally to come away with a 78-74 victory over red-hot shooting Oklahoma Panhandle State inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 78, Oklahoma Panhandle State 74
  • Mid-America Christian (12-3, 6-3 SAC)
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State (3-11, 1-8 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Clay Baldwin – 16 Points, 5-11 FG, 3-7 3FG, 3-4 FT, 3 Assists, 2 Reb
• Clance Crosby – 14 Points, 6-9 FG, 2-2 FT, 8 Reb
• Morris Williams – 13 Points, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG, 3-4 FT, 4 Assists, 3 Reb
• Corey Skillman – 12 Points, 4-7 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT, 3 Reb, 2 Assists
• Zander Baker – 6 Points, 5 Steals, 3 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State's Christian Campbell and Morris Williams traded a pair of threes apiece through the first three-and-a-half minutes before an Aaron Williams Jr. triple at the 15:27 mark jumpstarted a 6-1 OPSU run capped on Ja'Vian Baker knocked down a long ball with 14:49 left to stretch the lead to 12-7.
  • While a wide-open Zander Baker three from the top of the key on the ensuing possession cut the Aggies lead down to two, OPSU outscored MACU 11-5 over the next four minutes as a Mykel Lindsey midrange jumper with 10:31 to go stretched the edge to 23-15.
  • After Able Houston made a long jumper on the following possession to bring it to six, the Aggies scored eight of the next 10 to grab their first double-digit lead of the game at 31-19 on Williams' deep three from the top of the key with 8:18 remaining.
  • MACU's Williams got a fastbreak runout to fall to go with James Locke knocking down a trey at the 7:11 mark to knock the deficit down to seven at 31-24, but the Evangels struggled on the offensive side over the next five minutes as OPSU rattled off six of the next eight as Williams Jr's long ball extended the advantage back to 37-26 with just under four minutes to go.
  • Both teams went blow-for-blow over the final two-and-a-half minutes as Clance Crosby flushed an alley-oop dunk with six seconds left, but OPSU once again pushed it to double-figures heading into the half as Mike Carter got a half-court shot to fall at the buzzer to make it a 43-32 contest at the half.
• Second Half
  • Panhandle seized its largest lead of the game on its first possession with Campbell hitting a right side three to bring it to 46-32, but MACU immediately went to work in its comeback efforts. After Baker made a highly-athletic tip-in with 18-and-a-half left, the Evangels strung together a nine-unanswered surge as Houston flushed a lob dunk with 14:27 left to close it to 49-44.
  • With the Evangels trailing by seven, Clay Baldwin caught fire for MACU with 12:29 to go as he went on a personal eight-point run with a pair of treys and a scoop-in layup, giving MACU its first lead of the game at the 11:02 mark.
  • The Evangels ultimately finished off the 14-unanswered streak as Demerius Shakur and Baldwin dropped in two more three-balls to stretch the MACU advantage to 60-53 with just under 10 minutes to go.
  • MACU hit another cold stretch over the next five minutes as the Aggies slowly chiseled away as Baker's triple with five-and-a-half left to made it a 64-63 game.
  • Following a pair of Corey Skillman foul shots at the 5:03 mark, OPSU scored the next four to take its final lead of the game at 67-66 on Baker's jumper with 3:53 to go.
  • The Evangels took back the advantage on the next possession as Crosby tipped in the lob from Williams before Skillman tipped in a shot off the offensive board to make it a three-point game before Lindsey's bucket with 2:31 left closed it back to 70-69.
  • MACU's defense locked down over the next two minutes, holding the Aggies to without a score as the Evangels slowly extended the edge from the free throw line with Williams knocking down a clutch pair with 36 seconds left to make it 74-69.
  • Even though Baker converted a tightly contest three with 29 seconds left to make it a two-point contest, Baldwin knocked down a pair of clutch tosses with 17 seconds to go before coming up with another big defensive stop before Crosby dropped in two of his own with six seconds left.
  • The Aggies added one more garbage time score with a second left to ultimately wrap-up the 78-74 final.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian was efficient on the offensive end, shooting 27-for-53 (50.9 percent) from the field, going 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from three to go along with 14-for-20 (70 percent) from the charity stripe. MACU was especially great in the second half, shooting 60 percent with a 66.7 percent clip from behind the arc.
• Oklahoma Panhandle State shot an incredible 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from three in the first half, but the Evangels were much stronger defensively in the second half with the Aggies finishing 26-of-57 (45.6 percent) from the floor and 14-for-33 (42.4 percent) from downtown with an 8-for-10 (80 percent) clip from the stripe.
• The Evangels dominated the turnover battle, forcing 17 OPSU giveaways while committing only eight of their own, resulting in an 18-2 difference in points off turnovers. However, OPSU won the rebounding battle by a 35-26 edge, including a 10-4 margin on the offensive glass.
• Senior guard Clay Baldwin finished with his career-high output with the Evangels, netting 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, going 3-for-7 from three and 3-of-4 from the stripe to go with three assists.
• Clance Crosby continued to be an impact player on the offensive and defensive ends, scoring 14 points on 6-for-9 from the floor with eight rebounds, seven of which coming on the defensive side.
• Morris Williams closed out the contest with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including 2-of-4 from downtown and 3-for-4 from the line with four assists and three boards.
• Corey Skillman rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers with 12 points, also finishing 4-of-7 from the floor and 2-for-4 from three to go with 2-of-2 from the line with three boards and two assists.
• Despite a tough outing offensively, sophomore guard Zander Baker made his impact felt on the defensive end, notching a season-high five steals, only one off from his career-best to go with six points and thee boards.
• With the win, MACU has now won seven of its last eight games and improves to only one-and-a-half games back of the Sooner Athletic Conference lead after No. 12 Nelson fell at home to College of the Ozarks.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will close out its five-game home stand on Thursday as the Evangels are set to face Nelson for an 8 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke.