SE Oklahoma News

The Mid-America Christian men's basketball team will wrap-up its 2022 portion of the schedule on Friday as the Evangels will head to North Newton, Kan. to take on Bethel at 6 p.m. inside Thresher Gym.

 

MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 3-8
• Last Game: Lost at Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 85-73 – Dec. 13, 2022 – Bethany, Okla.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: DaRaun Clark (168, 18.0 ppg), Eylan Goodwyn (114, 10.4 ppg), Seth Hurd (92, 8.4 ppg)
  • FG% (Min. 3 FGM/G): Seth Hurd (41-74, 55.4%), Eylan Goodwyn (37-71, 52.1%), DaRaun Clark (49-119, 41.2%)
  • 3FG% (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Conner Calavan (22-58, 37.9%)
  • FT% (Min. 2 FTM/G): Eylan Goodwyn (33-43, 76.7%), DaRaun Clark (56-75, 74.7%)
  • Reb: Tarrence Gaines (82, 7.5 rpg), Quentin Woodson (39, 3.5 rpg), DaRaun Clark (31, 4.1 rpg)
  • Assists: Jaylon Barnett (35, 3.2 apg), Trevonte Doolittle (17, 1.5 apg), Seth Hurd (14, 1.3 apg)
  • Steals: Jaylon Barnett (17, 1.5 spg), DaRaun Clark (9, 1.0 spg), Eylan Goodwyn (9, 0.8 spg)
  • Blocks: Tarrence Gaines (8, 0.7 bpg), Seth Hurd (4, 0.4 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian battled back from an eight-point deficit at halftime to take an early 45-43 lead in the second half on DaRaun Clark's steal and fastbreak layup with 15:52 to go, Southwestern Christian put together a 21-3 run over a six-minute stretch before eventually pulling away with the 85-73 win.
  • Despite the Evangels' offensive struggles, Clark put together a big game offensively, leading MACU with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting with three rebounds and two steals.
  • Three-point and free throw shooting played the biggest factors in the contest as MACU shot just 2-for-18 (11.1 percent) from range and 15-of-30 (50 percent) from the charity stripe while Southwestern Christian buried 10-of-30 (33.3 percent) three-point attempts and went 19-for-24 (79.2 percent) from the line.
  • While several of the Evangels' games this season have been tightly contested, MACU has struggled since winning its first two games of the season as the Evangels have lost eight of the last nine.

SCOUTING REPORT

Bethel (Kan.)

• Record: 7-5
• Last Game: Won vs. York (Neb.) – 94-64 – Dec. 13, 2022 – North Newton, Kan.
• Series vs. MACU (2021-): MACU leads 1-0
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 92-84 (OT) – Nov. 6, 2021 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Players to Watch:
  • Bryant Mocaby – SR – F
    • 179 Points (14.9 ppg), 57-141 FG (40.4%), 40-101 3FG (39.6%), 25-32 FT (78.1%), 57 Reb (4.8 rpg), 15 Assists (1.3 apg), 9 Steals (0.8 spg)
  • Clifford Byrd II – SR – G
    • 135 Points (13.5 ppg), 54-127 FG (42.5%), 23-32 FT (71.9%), 54 Reb (5.4 rpg), 53 Assists (5.3 apg), 37 Steals (3.7 spg)
  • Harper Jonas – JR – G
    • 117 Points (10.6 ppg), 40-90 FG (44.4%), 17-56 3FG (30.4%), 20-27 FT (74.1%), 51 Reb (4.6 rpg), 11 Assists (1.0 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • After going 5-5 through its first two games, Bethel is coming off its two most dominant performances of the season in a 92-62 win at Tabor (Kan.) on Dec. 10 and a 94-64 win at home against York (Neb.) on Tuesday.
  • The Threshers were a team that was struggling on the offensive end before those two big wins as BC was averaging just 72.1 ppg and eclipsed 90 points just once in those previous 10 games.
  • Bethel features a balanced scoring threat with five players averaging more than nine points per game, led by senior forward Bryant Mocaby. The outside scoring threat is averaging 14.9 ppg and is shooting a blistering 40-of-101 (39.6 percent) from three-point range. Senior guard Clifford Byrd II is one of the biggest threats both offensively and defensively as not only is he averaging 13.5 ppg on a 42.5 percent shooting clip, but also leads the distribution efforts with 53 assists (5.3 apg). On defense, Byrd has notched 37 steals (3.7 spg) while also pulling down 54 rebounds (5.4 rpg).
  • In the two team's only previous meeting in program history last season, the Evangels won an absolute thriller when Terrance Jones buried a buzzer-beating fallaway jumper at the end of regulation to force overtime. In the extra period, Jones scored eight of MACU's 17 points as the Evangels pulled away with the 92-84 win. Jones and Isaiah Hammons came up big for MACU in the win, combining for 62 points (Jones 34, Hammons 28) and 14 rebounds while Hammons chipped in four steals and three assists.

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