Shawnee, Okla. – Korry Tillery had a career high 29 points but Evangel fell short on the road in an 83-79 loss to 11^th ranked Oklahoma Baptist Friday in Shawee, Oklahoma.

Evangel led by as much as 12 in the first half but the Bison rallied to take a 40-37 lead at halftime. The Crusaders stayed within striking distance in the second half but Oklahoma Baptist hit free throws down the stretch and made 24 for 26 from the line during the game to hold on.

"They shot the ball well, they're the best free throw shooting team in the nation and they made almost all of them today," said Evangel head coach Steve Jenkins. "I don't know if our rotations were off or what, but we looked out of gas at the end of the first half. As a result, we didn't close out the first half well and that came back to hurt us."

Tillery hit 10 of 17 shots from the field including 2 of 4 three-point attempts while going 7 for 9 from the foul line. The senior from Parkview HS had 26 points two games ago against Southeastern (Fla.) for his previous high.

Oklahoma Baptist was led by Bryon Miller's 18 points. The Bison hit 13 of 27 three-pointers.

"I thought we played well," added Jenkins. "Tillery was outstanding but we just needed a little more scoring from someone else today."

The Crusaders dropped to 6-6 while Oklahoma Baptist raised their record to 11-2.

Evangel plays again tomorrow hosting Robert Morris (Ill.) at 4 p.m. in the Ashcroft Center.

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