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The MACU men's basketball team will usher in 2023 with a tough Sooner Athletic Conference road battle as the Evangels will head to Fort Worth, Texas on Monday to take on Texas Wesleyan for a 7:45 p.m. tip-off inside the Sid Richardson Center.

 

MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 4-8 (1-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Bethel (Kan.) – 72-69 – Dec. 16, 2022 – North Newton, Kan.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: DaRaun Clark (166, 16.6 ppg), Eylan Goodwyn (133, 11.1 ppg), Seth Hurd (102, 8.5 ppg)
  • FG% (Min. 3 FGM/G): Seth Hurd (46-84, 54.8%), Eylan Goodwyn (46-86, 53.5%), DaRaun Clark (51-127, 40.2%)
  • 3FG% (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Conner Calavan (24-60, 40.0%), Jonathan Alexandre (13-44, 29.5%)
  • FT% (Min. 2 FTM/G): Eylan Goodwyn (33-44, 75.0%), DaRaun Clark (56-76, 73.7%)
  • Reb: Tarrence Gaines (82, 7.5 rpg), Seth Hurd (46, 3.8 rpg), Two Tied (42)
  • Assists: Jaylon Barnett (35, 2.9 apg), Trevonte Doolittle (19, 1.6 apg), Seth Hurd (16, 1.3 apg)
  • Steals: Jaylon Barnett (17, 1.4 spg), DaRaun Clark (12, 1.0 spg)
  • Blocks: Tarrence Gaines (8, 0.7 bpg), Two Tied (4)
• Team Notes:
  • After losing eight of its last nine games, Mid-America Christian picked up a big road win to carry some momentum into the new year as the Evangels went into Bethel on Dec. 16 and came away with a huge 72-69 victory. In the win, Eylan Goodwyn hit the go-ahead floating jumper with 33 seconds left before Tarrence Gaines buried a pair of clutch foul shots with four seconds to go to seal the victory.
  • In that road victory, Goodwyn came up big for the Evangels on the offensive end, scoring a game-high 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting while MACU got some big time bench production from Jonathan Alexandre and Quentin Woodson, who finished with 14 and 12 points respectively.
  • The game marked just the third time this season that the Evangels shot 50 percent or better from the field (29-of-58, 50 percent) while MACU also boasted its second-best game from the perimeter at 7-for-17 (41.2 percent).
  • A bulk of MACU's three-point shooting success came from Alexandre, who buried 4-for-5 from beyond the arc while Conner Calavan also went 2-of-2 from range.

SCOUTING REPORT

Texas Wesleyan

• Record: 6-6 (3-3 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. Concordia (Neb.) – 81-74 – Dec. 28, 2022 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Series vs. MACU (2013-): MACU leads 11-7
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 78-75 – Jan. 27, 2022 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Players to Watch:
  • Akili Vining – SR – G
    • 212 Points (17.7 ppg), 75-166 FG (45.2%), 19-44 3FG (43.2%), 43-55 FT (78.2%), 49 Reb (4.1 rpg), 33 Assists (2.8 apg), 16 Steals (1.3 spg)
  • Lamine Komara – SR – F
    • 164 Points (14.9 ppg), 62-132 FG (47.0%), 39-58 FT (67.2%), 73 Reb (6.6 rpg), 16 Steals (1.5 spg), 6 Blocks (0.5 bpg)
  • Keyaun Hoskin – JR – G
    • 177 Points (14.8 ppg), 65-112 FG (58.0%), 15-34 3FG (44.1%), 32-43 FT (74.4%), 53 Reb (4.4 rpg), 32 Assists (2.7 apg), 18 Steals (1.5 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Despite picking up a pair of huge SAC wins at Southwestern Assemblies of God (86-84) on Dec. 3 and 89-79 at Southwestern Christian on Dec. 8, Texas Wesleyan had a tough finish to 2022 as the Rams dropped two of their last three, including an 81-74 home defeat to Concordia (Neb.) on Dec. 28.
  • Texas Wesleyan features a high-octane offense that currently ranks as one of the NAIA's best, as the Rams are averaging the fifth-most points per game in the nation at 90.3.
  • Overall, Texas Wesleyan is very balanced in its offensive attack as TWU has five players that are averaging 10 or more points per game. Senior guard Akili Vining leads the charge, averaging 17.7 ppg while effectively shooting 45.2 percent from the floor and 43.2 percent from the three-point arc.
  • Mid-America Christian has had some strong success against Texas Wesleyan in the last three years as the Evangels have won four of the last five meetings and are seeking their third straight win in Fort Worth. The last time the Evangels played at the Sid Richardson Center, MACU held off a strong Texas Wesleyan comeback as Jasiah Lewis buried a pair of foul shots with seven seconds left to give MACU the three-point lead before the Rams missed a game-tying three at the buzzer to propel the Evangels to a 78-75 victory.

Original source can be found here