Waxahachie, TX – After being ranked #3 in the NAIA National Preseason Polls, SAGU Men's Basketball opened the 2021-22 season in style Thursday evening, building a 36-point lead in the second half so that Dallas Christian College would never seriously threaten an eventual 115-84 victory in the Sheaffer Center Gymnasium.
Led by former NAIA 1
st Team All-American
Joshua Kashila's 30 points, five SAGU players scored in double figures thanks to a strong offensive performance that saw the Lions shoot just under 62% from the field (40-65). The Lions also shot just under 44% from three (10-23).
Nykolas Mason turned in an impressive debut to the 2021-22 season going 8-10 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line leading to a 20-point game for the Senior.
The two teams battled back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the first half, but after a jumper by
Jacob Rainey to put SAGU up 36-26, the Lions began to run away with the game as they went on a 7-point run. Their lead would never drop below 10-points for the rest of the first half and the Lions went into halftime up 57-45.
SAGU would run away with the game in the second half outscoring Dallas Christian College 58-39. Five minutes into the second half, the Lions went on a 11-0 run to put them 76-53 and scored 23 of the next 28 points. SAGU saw their biggest lead of the night on a
Nathan Bailey three-pointer to put them up by 36.
Former NAIA All-American
Joel Polius dominated the paint as he pulled in 11 rebounds and 9 points in 25 minutes played.
Tyler Kinghorn, a 6'7" junior out of Billings, Montana, saw a good night as well going 4-4 from the field including two breakaway dunks and ending the night with 10 points and 7 rebounds.
The Lions would go on to take a 115-84 victory over Dallas Christian College and start the 2021-22 season 1-0.
Up next, SAGU will take on Paul Quinn in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, November 9.
As a leading Christian university, SAGU educates and prepares individuals who want to serve Christ and others. SAGU helps students discover and develop their God-given callings in a Spirit-empowered, learning community. We believe in affordable tuition, made possible in part through the financial support of donors who embrace the mission of SAGU and the importance of affordable, accredited programs to train Christians for leadership in ministry, business, education, and service. Most majors are available in-person in Waxahachie, TX, and online through a wide range of associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
