OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball will be looking to get back on the right foot to start a four-game home stand inside Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels host John Brown for an 8 p.m. tip-off on Thursday night before welcoming in College of the Ozarks at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 13-6 (7-6 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Oklahoma City – 73-47 – Jan. 22, 2026 – Oklahoma City (Abe Lemons Arena)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Morris Williams (308, 16.2 ppg), Shannon Strickland (203, 10.7 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (%, M-A; Min 3 FGM/G): Clance Crosby (64.3, 63-98), Morris Williams (49.5, 102-206)
  • 3FG Percentage (%, M-A; Min 1 3FGM/G): Shannon Strickland (44.4, 28-63), Morris Williams (41.4, 36-87)
  • FT Percentage (%, M-A; Min 2 FTM/G): Demerius Shakur (80.0, 44-55), Morris Williams (79.1, 68-86)
  • Rebounds: Morris Williams (107, 5.6 rpg), Clance Crosby (106, 5.6 rpg)
  • Assists: Shannon Strickland (37, 1.9 apg), Clay Baldwin (32, 1.7 apg)
  • Steals: Zander Baker (33, 1.7 spg), Morris Williams (26, 1.4 spg)
  • Blocks: Clance Crosby (15, 0.8 bpg), Able Houston (8, 0.4 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • With its return home for the next four games, Mid-America Christian will be seeking to turn things around on the offensive end after losing three of its last four games with the last three being away from the Gaulke.
  • In that stretch, the Evangels on the offensive end are averaging only 65.5 points per game while posting a 34.9 percent clip from the field and a 26.1 percent rate from the three-point arc.
  • Despite MACU's recent offensive struggles, MACU will be looking to turn it around inside the Gaulke the next four games. In their home confines, the Evangels are averaging 82.7 ppg at home compared to just 71.4 ppg away from the Gaulke.
  • Since the start of December, junior forward Morris Williams has been the staple of offensive consistency for the Evangels. Being the lone MACU player to break into double-figures in last week's contest at OCU, the Plano, Texas product has scored in double-figures in 11 of his 12 games while averaging 15.9 ppg, shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three, and 80.4 percent from the charity stripe.

SCOUTING REPORT
John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 9-10 (6-7 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. Texas Wesleyan – 75-66 – Jan. 22, 2026 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): JBU leads 21-18
• Last Game vs MACU: JBU won 82-68 – Dec. 11, 2025 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series Streak: JBU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Trae Oetting – JR – G
    • 326 Points (17.2 ppg), 113-256 FG (44.1%), 39-123 3FG (31.7%), 61-79 FT (77.2%), 92 Reb (4.8 rpg), 46 Assists (2.4 apg), 17 Steals (0.9 spg)
  • Donovan Lovelace – SR – F
    • 290 Points (15.3 ppg), 94-192 FG (49.0%), 34-72 3FG (47.2%), 68-90 FT (75.6%), 143 Reb (7.5 rpg), 29 Assists (1.5 apg)
  • Marko Malekinusic – JR – F
    • 177 Points (9.3 ppg), 51-140 FG (36.4%), 43-112 3FG (38.4%), 32-38 FT (84.2%), 83 Reb (4.4 rpg), 28 Assists (1.5 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • Ever since getting a home win over MACU back on Dec. 11, it has been tough sledding or John Brown as the Golden Eagles have lost seven of their last eight games. However, JBU is not a team to take lightly as the lone Golden Eagles win was a 76-72 home win over No. 7 Langston on Jan. 17.
  • JBU has been a drastically different team on the road this season as the Golden Eagles possess a 7-4 record inside Bill George Arena on the year while owning only a 2-6 mark away from Siloam Springs.
  • The Golden Eagles have been one of the better offensive teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference this season, ranking fifth at 78.0 ppg despite shooting the third-lowest field goal percentage (44.1) in the league. A big reason for that is their efficiency from the three-point arc and the foul line, posting the second-highest three-point clip (35.7) and second-best free throw rate (75.8).
  • While John Brown is relatively balanced on the offensive end, junior guard Trae Oetting and senior forward Donovan Lovelace are the two most prominent players on the offensive end. Oetting is the league's fifth-most prominent scorer (17.2 ppg) while Lovelace owns the SAC's second-best rebounding (7.5) and three-point shooting percentage (47.2).
  • In their last meeting in Siloam Springs, Mid-America Christian withstood some red-hot JBU scoring in the first half, taking a 45-43 into the halftime break. However, the Evangels came out cold in the second half, being outscored 39-23 over the final 20 minutes as the Golden Eagles secured the 82-68 home win. Morris Williams put together a strong game for the Evangels, scoring 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting while also coming up with three steals on the defensive end.

College of the Ozarks (Mo.)

• Record: 8-11 (5-8 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. No. 17 Nelson (Texas) – 95-80 – Jan. 22, 2026 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series vs MACU (2012-): Series Tied 6-6
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 78-73 – Dec. 13, 2025 – Point Lookout, Mo.
• Series Streak: MACU won 3
• Players to Watch:
  • Andrew Dalton – JR – G
    • 296 Points (15.6 ppg), 94-217 FG (43.3%), 49-129 3FG (38.0%), 59-73 FT (80.8%), 75 Reb (3.9 rpg), 36 Assists (1.9 apg)
  • Garrett Snyder – JR – G
    • 292 Points (15.4 ppg), 101-208 FG (48.6%), 22-64 3FG (34.4%), 68-85 FT (80.0%), 60 Reb (3.2 rpg), 37 Assists (1.9 apg), 22 Steals (1.2 spg)
  • Jay Baxter – JR – G/F
    • 198 Points (10.4 ppg), 75-167 FG (44.9%), 20-56 3FG (35.7%), 28-46 FT (60.9%), 130 Reb (6.8 rpg), 39 Assists (2.1 apg), 23 Blocks (1.2 bpg), 38 Steals (2.0 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • College of the Ozarks had been playing some pretty strong basketball to close out its three-game home stand, winning three of its last four games which included a massive 109-105 upset at No. 17 Nelson on Jan. 10. However, the Lions got the best of the Bobcats to wrap-up their home stand as Nelson came away with the 95-80 road win on Jan. 22.
  • While COFO has had its ups-and-downs, the Bobcats have been challenged to find consistency on the offensive end as the squad ranks second-to-last in the SAC in scoring (73.5 ppg). However, a big reason for COFO's lack of scoring is due to its pace of play as the Bobcats rank fourth in field goal percentage (46.0) and lead the league in three-point percentage (36.4). The Bobcats shoot a very strong clip from the foul line, ranking third in the conference at 75.5 percent, but one issue is the team's struggle to get to the stripe as it ranks ninth in made free throws (280) and 10^th in free throw attempts (371).
  • The junior guard duo of Andrew Dalton and Garrett Snyder have paced the Bobcats offense this season with both players averaging more than 15.0 ppg while posting solid shooting numbers from behind the arc as Dalton has made the third-most triples in the SAC. Junior combo guard/forward Jay Baxter brings a solid presence on the defensive end, as he is the only player in the SAC that is averaging more than 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game and ranks fifth in the league in rebounding at 6.8 rpg.
  • Since Ozarks joined the SAC last season, Mid-America Christian has won all three meetings but each contest has been tightly contested. In their battle inside the Keeter Gymnasium back on Dec. 13, the Evangels owned a 20-point lead early in the second half before the Bobcats battled back to make things interesting late. While Dalton buried a three with seven seconds left to close it to a three-point game, Clay Baldwin was fouled and put the game away with a pair of foul shots with four seconds left to seal the 78-73 result.