Category: MACU

Tournament Implications Loom Large Tuesday Night

Tuesday’s Blue Lights home game against Virginia Peninsula Community College will play a major factor in determining first round matchups in the 2023 New South Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.

After this weekend’s results, here are how things stand (NSAC W-L):

Apprentice 9-0*
Mid-Atlantic Christian 5-1*
Virginia Peninsula 2-3
Blue Lights 1-3
Christendom 0-3
Carolina Christian 0-6

*Clinched first round bye

Remaining NSAC games:
Apprentice: 2 (vs Christendom, vs MACU)
MACU: 3 (vs. CCC, at Apprentice, at VPCC)
VPCC: 2 (at BLC, vs MACU)
BLC: 1 (vs VPCC)
Christendom: 1 (at Apprentice)
Carolina Christian: 1 (at MACU)

Both Apprentice and MACU have clinched a bye into the semifinals.

A BLC win against Virginia Peninsula on Tuesday will lock up an opening round game for the Herd at Hope Community Church Arena, taking place during the week of February 21st. If the Gators win, it will clinch a home game for themselves as well as a guaranteed third place finish.

A Thoroughbreds loss – combined with a Christendom win at Apprentice – would secure the Crusaders a home playoff game, forcing BLC to play on the road.

The Thoroughbreds-Gators game tips off at 6:30pm EST, airing LIVE on the Thoroughbreds Sports Network on YouTube. Christendom-Apprentice tips off 30 minutes later at 7pm EST, also on YouTube.

The NSAC Basketball Tournament final four will be held February 25 and 26 in Newport News, Virginia.

Story and image courtesy Craig Green/BLC Media

MACU Blunts BLC Comeback, 87-81

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – It appeared Mid-Atlantic Christian had its game against Blue Lights College well in hand, leading by 16 late in the contest, but had to hang on to survive a Thoroughbreds push and win at home, 87-81 on Saturday afternoon.

With MACU holding an 81-65 lead with under five minutes in regulation, BLC launched a comeback attempt, scoring 16 of the game’s final 22 points, only to fall short.

“We played well,” said Mustangs head coach Charles Sims. “The plan today was just to have fun playing. As a team we needed this. With all the ups and downs of the season and the in-house situations that come with every team, this was an important victory.”

“We had self-inflicted wounds against a good team,” Thoroughbreds coach Nolan Adams explained. “We can’t survive that.”

Talik Totten led four Mustangs in double figures with 23 points. Two Thoroughbreds recorded double-doubles: Sam Benton, Jr. scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Keyshawn Bryant had 20 and 14, respectively.

The win keeps MACU a step behind Apprentice in the NSAC standings at 5-1 and 10-8 overall. Blue Lights remains tied for third with Virginia Peninsula at 1-3 and 7-5.

MACU Toughs Out Win at Christendom, 80-69

FRONT ROYAL, Va. – Freshman forward Jalen Jones chalked 17 points to lead Mid-Atlantic Christian to 80-69 NSAC win at Christendom Saturday afternoon.

“It was the kind of game we expected with Christendom,” said MACU coach Charles Sims. “Our games have always been competitive and tight.”

The Mustangs led by three at halftime, 37-34, and were able to turn up the defensive intensity in the second half.

“Christendom never backs down, and they are disciplined, so we knew what to expect,” said Sims. “It was good to get this win on the road.”

The Crusaders were coming off another tight New South game just the night before, a 70-63 home loss to Apprentice.

MACU improved to 4-1 in league play and 9-7 overall, while the Crusaders moved to 0-3 and 5-8, respectively.

Mustangs Hang on for 80-70 Win at Regent

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Mid-Atlantic Christian survived a strong effort from Regent to pull out an 80-70 non-conference men’s basketball win Tuesday night.

The Mustangs fell behind by as many as 9 points in the first half, 25-16, before adjusting and taking 36-33 advantage into the break. But the Royals weren’t done either.

“At the start of the second half, we faced another bombardment from Regent and found ourselves down by 5,” said MACU coach Charles Sims. “Making our adjustments, we methodically got our rhythm and regained the lead and we never looked back.”

The Mustangs led by as many as 22 with 8:49 remaining in the game before settling for the final margin. They were led by Talik Totten’s 19 points and Jeremiah Dickerson’s 16. Regent’s Stanley Adjai had a double-double, 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Image courtesy regentroyals.com

Mustangs Hold Off Centurions, 84-72

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Mid-Atlantic Christian shot 56.5 percent from the field in the second half today to hold off Carolina Christian 84-72 in New South men’s basketball.

The Mustangs (7-7 overall, 3-1 NSAC) led by 15 at the half, 42-27, but the Centurions kept is close with their fast-break in the second half. MACU used a balanced attack and got all players in the scoring column, led by Talik Totten’s 22 points.

“This was definitely a full team effort,” said MACU coach Charles Sims. “It was a times challenging due to the uptempo game play of Carolina Christian and that took us out of our style of playing. But we managed to overcome and get our rhythm to secure the victory.”

CCC (3-10 overall, 0-4 NSAC) leaned heavily on its star forward, junior Daishawn George, who recorded a double-double with 31 points and 13 boards.

Totten Gifts MACU with Winning Bucket

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Mid-Atlantic Christian senior Talik Totten decided to give his team a gift on his birthday. The guard from Ahoskie, NC drained a three with 4.2 seconds remaining to lift MACU to a 70-68 win over visiting Virginia Peninsula in the Mustang’s NSAC opener.

The victory, and how they obtained it, was a test for head coach Charles Sims’ team.

“I saw something new emerge from the team tonight that I knew we have had all the time and that was true grit and just the determination to get it done,” said Sims. “This was yet another game that pushed us to another level.”

That level is now a statistical tie with Apprentice atop the NSAC standings. The Herd improved to 6-6 overall with the win. VPCC dropped to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Each team fought hard with nine lead changes and eight ties. Neither team led by more than 8 points.

MACU’s Noah Richardson-Keys led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Totten added 16 points, including the game winner.

“For him to hit that shot at a pivotal moment that secured the lead was awesome,” beamed Sims after the game.

The Gators’ Javion Majette led VPCC with 17 points while Keshaun Johnson marked a double-double, 14 points along with 10 boards.

Flames’ 3-Point Barrage Burns Mustangs

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty knocked down a season-high 20 three-pointers in its final non-conference game and final game before Christmas, winning 88-50 over visiting Mid-Atlantic Christian at Liberty Arena.

Leading 9-7 in the early going, Liberty used a 22-6 run to build a 31-13 lead with 8:21 to play in the opening half. Jonathan Jackson knocked down his first two threes of the game during that spurt.

Liberty finishes its non-conference portion of the schedule with a 9-4 record. The Flames are 7-1 over their last eight contests. MACU’s record remains at 4-5. The Mustangs counted today’s game as an exhibition.

Liberty Individuals: Jonathan Jackson 23 points, 8-10 FG, 7-9 3FG; Brody Peebles 16 points, 4-7 3FG, 4 assists; Darius McGhee 14 points, 5-10 FG, 4-9 3FG; Zach Cleveland 6 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks

Mid-Atlantic Christian Individuals: Micah Colburn 13 points, 5-10 FG, 3 rebounds; Noah Richardson-Keys 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals

Story and image courtesy liberty.edu

Mustangs Assessing Strengths, Weaknesses

Since achieving its number eight ranking in the first USCAA Division 1 men’s basketball poll earlier this month, the Mid-Atlantic Christian University Mustangs have cooled off from their early season start, dropping three of four contests to fall to 4-4 overall. The latest of those was a 76-71 loss at Carolina University on Saturday. First-year head coach Charles Sims is taking this as an opportunity for evaluation.

“We have to continue to improve in our weak areas of the game to achieve victories in games like these, said Sims. “This was yet another learning experience that we will build upon to get better and get us to that next level where the outcome of the game will be different.”

MACU led by 11 at halftime, but the Bruins took control going into the break.

“Saturday’s game was a contest that really pushed us to our limits,” Sims appraised. “The first half and the second half were two different games for us. The players played hard and met the challenges and our first half goals, and our defense allowed us to capitalize off of the Bruins turnovers in the first half, and as a team we only committed 3 turnovers in the first half.”

But then…

“Carolina University was able to hit a 3-pointer before halftime which gave them momentum into the half. At times in the second half we did not execute well. The Bruins had a plan, and they executed it to perfection in the second half: Get the ball in (Bruins senior guard) Micah Cooper’s hands and let him drive to the basket. He had too many free throw attempts for this game, which made the difference.”

Cooper finished with 28 points, including 14 of 17 from the charity stripe, and 10 rebounds. By contrast, the Mustangs had a total of 14 trips to the free throw line for the game, making nine of them.

MACU Senior Talik Totten matched Cooper’s 28 points to lead Mustang scoring. Noah Richardson-Keys added 13.

The Mustangs will next be in action on Saturday hosting Pitt Community College.

Image courtesy stretchinternet.com

Totten’s Big Weekend Propels Him to POTW

Mid-Atlantic Christian senior guard Talik Totten has been named at the New South Athletic Conference Player of the Week.

Totten helped Mid-Atlantic Christian win on Saturday against Christendom, providing 22 points with 12 of those points coming from the 3-point line. In the Mustangs’ game against Greensboro, Totten gave his team 31 points off of 12-17 from the floor and 6-9 from the 3-point line. Totten was named to the Roger Taylor All-Classic Team for his play in the three-day tournament.

Congratulations, Talik!

Totten’s 31 Not Enough as MACU Falls to GC

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – Nationally 8th-ranked Mid-Atlantic Christian hoped to get two out of three for the weekend after its win on Saturday, but came up short to Greensboro College 97-80 in the Roger Taylor Invitational in Rocky Mount, N.C.

MACU (4-3 overall, 0-0 NSAC) controlled the first 10 minutes of the first half and kept the lead, until Greensboro junior Amillia Huggins would put the Pride ahead for the first time, 23-22, after hitting two free throws. However, the Mustangs did not back down and recaptured the lead on a jumper by sophomore Micah Colburn, then going up by four on free throws by Jeremiah Dickerson and Jajour Lambert. With 4:09 remaining in the half, the Pride’s Grant Thompson got out on the fast break and finished it with a dunk, tying the game again, 30-30. Isaiah Pruett gave Greensboro the lead again when he drained a three-pointer and they would not relinquish it, allowing the Pride to head into the locker room with a seven-point advantage, 42-35.

GC senior Kevon Wright got things started in the second half, with a layup in the paint and on the next possession he followed that up with a three-point basket and then a layup, giving Greensboro its first double digit lead, 49-35.

MACU senior Talik Totten led all scorers with 31 points off of 12-17 shooting from the floor and 6-9 from the 3-point line. Totten was named to the Roger Taylor All-Classic Team for his play in the three-day tournament.

The Mustangs dropped a 79-52 decision to host NC Wesleyan on Friday before notching a home win over Christendom 64-49 on Saturday.

Story courtesy greensborocollegesports.com