Box Score Waxahachie, Tex. – Evangel finished their Texas road trip with an 89-81 win over 15th ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Friday in Waxahachie, Texas in the AGCU Classic.
The Crusaders built a 47-37 lead at halftime but Southwestern responded and used a 20-6 run to take a 59-57 lead over the Crusaders with 12:10 remaining.
Evangel built the lead back to eight points six minutes later on the strength of a pair of three-point baskets by Dylan Bekemeier and three made free throws by Richard Chapman.
The Crusaders hit free throws down the stretch and a Bekemeier three-pointer with 1:05 left gave Evangel an 84-79 lead. The Lions never pulled within a possession of the lead after that.
Bekemeier finished with a career high 27 points. Jalen Norman and Cody Geiger both registered double-doubles as Norman had 15 points and 15 rebounds while Geiger totaled 14 points and 11 boards.
Evangel out-rebounded Southwestern 50-35. The Crusaders were 9 for 17 on three-point shots with Bekemeier hitting 7 for 9 from the field and 4 of 5 from behind the arc.
Jason Gentry led the Lions with 19 points.
The Crusaders were without two starters. Marcus Miller missed his second game with an injured ankle and Nick Yocum missed his seventh with an upper body injury.
The loss snaps a six game losing streak by the Crusaders and raising their record to 2-10. It was their first win since Nov. 21 when they defeated Grand View at home. The Lions fell for the first time in six games and lost to only their second opponent of the season as they dropped to 11-3. Both prior losses by Southwestern had been to Wiley (Tex.).
Evangel is idle until Jan. 2 when they go back to Heart of America conference play with a road contest at Benedictine. Tipoff is 4 p.m. in Atchison, Kansas.
Evangel strikes 'Gold' with the win over a ranked opponent. Southwestern was ranked 15th nationally and Gold-N-Glaze donuts at 2933 E. Chestnut Expressway provides donuts for the players of each team that defeats a nationally ranked opponent this season.
