Mid-America Christian University

OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Men's Basketball team picked up its most lopsided win in Sooner Athletic Conference play inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Monday night as the Evangels cruised to a 90-51 victory over crosstown rival Southwestern Christian.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 90, Southwestern Christian 51
  • Mid-America Christian (16-6, 10-6 SAC)
  • Southwestern Christian (7-14, 5-11 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Clay Baldwin – 19 Points, 7-11 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4-6 FT, 7 Reb, 4 Assists
• Morris Williams – 18 Points, 7-11 FG, 4-4 FT, 3 Reb
• James Locke – 15 Points, 6-7 FG, 3-4 3FG, 3 Reb
• Corey Skillman – 12 Points, 5-8 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2 Assists, 2 Steals

GAME SUMMARY

• First Half
  • Mid-America Christian opened the contest by seizing an early 4-0 lead on a Shannon Strickland lay-in and a pair of Morris Williams foul shots just 55 seconds in. Both teams went quiet before Jalen Goar's jumper with 17:12 remaining gave Southwestern Christian its first score.
  • Both teams went blow-for-blow over the next few minutes, but Elijah Garcia provided a spark for the Eagles by burying a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions to give SCU its only lead of the contest at 10-8.
  • After the first media timeout, James Locke popped a midrange jumper from the foul line at the 14:12 mark, igniting a dominant 15-2 surge over the next six minutes as Demerius Shakur capped it by finishing off an and-one with 8:51 remaining to make it a 23-12 score.
  • While Goar got another jumper to go with 8:41 left, the Evangels defense continued to play tenacious, holding SCU without a field goal over a four-minute stretch as the Evangels netted 10 of the next 11 as Baker cooked another jumper with at the 5:15 mark, stretching the advantage to 33-15.
  • A Michal Wooldridge hoop-and-harm with just under five minutes remaining did little to stem the MACU tide, as the Evangels scored 13 of the final 16 points with Clay Baldwin burying a jumper with only three seconds left to send MACU into the half with a commanding 46-20 advantage.
• Second Half
  • While both teams traded barbs through the first three minutes, Southwestern Christian started getting into a rhythm following a pair of Wooldridge free throws at the 16:42 mark as the Eagles rattled off a 9-2 run to close the gap to 54-34 with 15:09 remaining on Garcia's layup.
  • After allowing 14 points through the first five minutes, the MACU defense buckled down over the next six, allowing only a single SCU three-pointer from Garcia with 11:34 on the clock. During the stretch, the Evangels outscored the Eagles 15-3 with Baldwin corralling 12 of the points on three long balls, a jumper, and a free throw to extend the advantage to 69-34 with 9:44 to go.
  • SCU swung back by scoring nine of the next 11 as Jordun Willurd's back-to-back buckets trimmed the lead down to 71-46 with 7:37 left.
  • Following a three-point trade-off between Corey Skillman and Cole Allen, the Evangels scored the next eight before Camryn Reed netted SCU's last score of the contest at the 4:25 mark to make it 82-51.
  • The Evangels wrapped up the contest by scoring eight unanswered on a pair of threes from James Locke and Shakur before Brandon Hardison lofted a shot in paint off the glass and in with 18 seconds left to seal the 90-51 result.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian continued its blistering-hot shooting in its home venue, knocking down 36-of-66 (54.5 percent) from the field and 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from three-point range while converting 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from the charity stripe.
• Overall, the contest marked the 11^th game this year the Evangels shot better than 50 percent from the field and the ninth over 40-percent from three-point range.
• The Evangels were just as dominant on the defensive end, holding Southwestern Christian to 20-for-62 (32.3 percent) shooting and 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from downtown. SCU also struggled mightily from the stripe, making only 4-for-11 (36.4 percent).
• MACU dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Eagles 46-31 and while both teams recorded 10 offensive boards, the Evangels held a slight 11-6 edge in second chance points. The Evangels also won the turnover battle, committing only 11 turnovers while forcing 15 Eagles giveaways.
• Clay Baldwin led a balanced offensive effort for MACU, scoring a game-high and career-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, going 3-of-4 from range and 4-for-6 from the foul line. Baldwin also posted a stellar floor game, yanking down seven boards and four assists.
• The reigning SAC Offensive Player of the Week Morris Williams also put together another solid game on the offensive end, netting 18 points while converting on 7-of-11 shots and 4-for-4 from the stripe to go with a trio of boards.
• James Locke also provided a strong spark off the bench, tallying 15 points on 6-for-7 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc with three rebounds.
• Corey Skillman rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three with two steals and two assists.
• In only 17 minutes of action, Manuel Zapater led MACU on the glass with a career-high nine rebounds while Zander Baker led the distribution efforts with five assists.
• By getting the win, MACU split the season series with the Eagles, avenging a heartbreaking 75-72 defeat to SCU on Nov. 20.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will host a massive league battle in its penultimate home game of the regular season on Thursday as the Evangels take on No. 7 Langston for an 8 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke.