Drovers Cruise to 21-Point Victory on the Road at MACU

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Monday night, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (8-2, 3-1 SAC) earned their eighth victory in the last nine games with an impressive 90-69 victory on the road at Mid-America Christian University (5-3, 2-2 SAC). With the win, the Drovers improve to 19-17 against the Evangels all-time, dating back to January of 2008. Additionally, USAO has emerged victorious in each of the last eight games against MACU.

Entering Monday's contest, the Evangels defense ranked first in the Sooner Athletic Conference in nearly every major statistical category, including: scoring defense (58.4 ppg), field goal defense (34.7 percent) and second three-point field goals defense (29.6 percent). In contrast, the Drover offense entered with a league-leading 88.0 points per game, while shooting a very efficient 50.8 percent from the field.

The opening minutes of action were evenly matched, but MACU began to pull away and held a 26-19 lead midway through the half. However, USAO would catch fire and went on a 26-9 run to take a 45-35 lead into the break. 

Following halftime, the Drovers continued to dominate on offense and smother on defense, outscoring the Evangels 45-34 in the second half. Prior to closing out the 21-point victory, USAO led by as many as 25 with 3:10 remaining in regulation.

The USAO offense was efficient and finished the game shooting 31-62 (.500) from the field, 9-24 (.375) from beyond the arc, and 19-26 (.731) from the free-throw line. In comparison, MACU shot 23-59 (.390) from the field, 8-28 (.286) from deep, and 15-23 (.652) from the charity stripe. 

USAO was in full control of the paint, out-rebounding MACU by a wide margin of 50-32, and 15 of the Drovers rebounds came on the offensive end of the court. The Drovers outscored the Evangels in the paint 36-26.

Both teams did a good job at taking care of the ball as MACU finished with seven turnovers, while USAO had eight. The Drovers were whistled for 16 fouls, and the Evangels were called for 23 infractions.

Reggie Quezada led the Drovers to victory with his first double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Quezada also dished out four assists and he stole the ball three times on defense. 

Logan Dolan also had a terrific game, contributing 16 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, including 4-7 from deep.

Anthony Ray added a spark off the bench with 11 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Jaden Harrell made a huge impact on both ends of the court as he concluded with 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Rory Pantophlet closed with eight points and eight rebounds, followed by Cade Allen with seven points and four rebounds. 

Niieihii BlackBear scored six points and grabbed five boards, while Jaden Causwell added five points. Manny Gatkek recorded four points and three rebounds, followed by Tre Edwards with three points, and Zach Hays with two. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will return to action on Saturday, December 16 as they host Texas Wesleyan University at 3:45 PM inside Drover Fieldhouse. 

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