October 25, 2022
Waxahachie, TX: The reigning Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) tournament champion men's basketball team Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU), hosts Arlington Baptist University (ABU) on Thursday, October 27, to commence the 2022–23 season. Athletic Ticketing for the Lions vs. Arlington Baptist University - Texas Snowstorm
The SAGU men's basketball team, coached by Delton Deal, will endeavor to improve upon the 24-9, 16-6 record from the 2021–22 season, which was punctuated by a defeat to No. 2 seed Thomas More in the Round of 16 at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Basketball National Championship.
Last season, the men's basketball team made a remarkable run, and two SAGU players were named All-Americans. Joshua Kashila was chosen as an Honorable Mention NAIA All-American, while Nykolas Mason was selected for the Third Team.
For the 2022-23 Lions basketball team's complete schedule
SAC Preseason Poll: Before the 2022–23 season, SAGU is listed as the No. 6 team in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) preseason men's basketball poll, the SAC revealed on October 19.
After overcoming a nine-point deficit early in the second half, SAGU beat Wayland Baptist to win the 2022 Sooner Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament 58-56. Kashila would seal the Lions' triumph with a pull-up, mid-range jumper.
The 2023 Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament tips off with quarterfinals on campus sites on February 23, 2023. The league tournament returns to the Gaulke Activity Center on the Mid-America Christian campus for the semi-finals and championships on Feb. 27-28. The NAIA Championship Opening Round happens March 7-8 at host sites throughout the country, and the NAIA Championship Tournament takes place March 13-18 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
A glimpse of the Lions Roster: The men's teams have added significant talent to round out their core of established players.
The top returners for the Lions are Noah Boling, Tyler Kinghorn, and Keenan Gooden.
Noah Boling, a graduate student from Van Alstyne, Texas, has achieved major success while sporting a Lions jersey. Since earning freshman of the year, Boling has been the team's starting point guard and has aided them in winning two SAC tournament championships and a SAC regular season championship. Boiling will aim to use his extensive on-court expertise and lethal three-point shooting talent to continue his on-court success.
Returning for his second season, Tyler Kinghorn, known locally as "Psycho T" among SAGU fans, will once more be a fan favorite. The high-flying forward's mix of speed, guard abilities, and enormous power creates a matchup issue for opposing teams' frontcourts. It wouldn't be shocking if Kinghorn led the Lions in dunks this season.
Keenan Gooden, a junior college transfer student from Houston, Texas, will be a big-time asset on both sides of the ball in his second season with SAGU. With his long, lanky arms, the combo guard can block shots from the other team to protect the rim, and his performance on the fast break displays a passing velocity and creativity ideal for head coach Delton Deal's high-tempo play style.
Brooks Haddock, Philbert Weekes, and Cortland Blake are three of the Lions' top newcomers.
A native of Muskogee, Oklahoma, the NCAA Division II transfer from Emporia State, Brooks Haddock, is no stranger to high-level NAIA play. Haddock spent three years and 96 games at Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU), scoring 1,371 points and draining 253 three-pointers. During the 2020–21 season, he scored 15.6 points on average and shot 43.6% from outside the arc for Oklahoma Wesleyan. Haddock also has a game where he scored 41 points in only 19 minutes against College of the Ozarks by making 12 of 14 three-point attempts. Haddock was additionally OKWU's second-leading scorer as they made it to Kansas City's Round of 16 of the NAIA Division I tournament.
New Yorker, Philbert Weekes should provide a formidable frontcourt presence. The double-double machine joins SAGU after transferring from Buffalo State University, where he had an outstanding 2021–22 campaign earning postseason honors. Weekes averaged an outstanding 15.4 points and 13.7 rebounds per game while shooting a remarkable 50.4 percent from the field. He accomplished this to become the first Buffalo State Bengal to average a points-rebounds double-double since 1985.
Cortland Blake, a transfer from McLennan Community College, re-joins the team after departing following his freshman season, wherein he won the SAC tournament championship. In a road game against Wayland Baptist University as a freshman, Blake scored a season-high 14 points while shooting a perfect 100% from the field and 3/3 from beyond the arc. During his junior college years, Blake was selected to the Region IX all-tournament team, received a first-team all-NCCAC award, and earned an honorable mention on the Omaha World-Herald all-Midlands squad.
JJ Boling from Van Alstyne High school and Dallas Smith from Lakeview Centennial were signed by the Lions. The freshmen guards are incredibly athletic, have tremendous agility on fast breaks, and can score the ball in high dosages.
"Since middle school, I have been working on this dream to play basketball in college," JJ Boling noted when he committed to joining the SAGU squad. Isaiah Boling, a former basketball player at SAGU, and Noah Boling, the team's captain, are also JJ Boling's siblings. JJ had never played on a team with his siblings because they all graduated before he began high school; thus, the 2022–23 season will be a first for him. Based on his achievements throughout his senior year in high school, JJ Boling was selected to the District 4A DFW All-North Texas First Team.
Dallas Smith, from Garland, Texas, is another bright freshman prospect. The offensive North Texas District 9-6A MVP's knack for making contested midrange jumpers and adept ball handling could ignite the Lions' offensive approach.
For the complete Men's Basketball Roster
More information about the head coach Delton Deal
Since 2017, Coach Delton Deal has served as the head coach of the SAGU Men's Basketball team. Coach Deal has a 107-42 record while at SAGU, and in the 2020–21 season, he guided SAGU to its second appearance in the Fab Four of the NAIA National Tournament. Additionally, three NAIA All-Americans, Joel Polius, Nykolas Mason, and Joshua Kashila, were coached by Coach Deal when they were at SAGU.
"I am extremely excited about this group of guys. I believe that they really exemplify who we want to be at SAGU and will carry on the tradition set before them. We have a lot of guys stepping into new roles, and I believe they are ready to lead in a way that can help us be successful. We don't really focus on the results but on how we go about our business. We say that joy wins, and we work hard every day to ensure we uplift each other and represent Jesus with our play and togetherness. This is an extremely hard-working and selfless group and will be a joy to coach this season," SAGU head men's basketball coach Delton Deal noted.
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.
