Springfield, Mo. – Evangel men's basketball fell in Heart of America conference play on Wednesday night losing to Baker 85-80 at the Ashcroft Center.

Evangel led at the half 40-36 and were up by as much as five with 6:11 remaining. A three-pointer by Baker's Gregg Easter gave the Wildcats a 79-76 lead with 2:15 left.

The Crusaders had a chance to tie the game with 20 seconds left trailing 80-78 but a Marcus Miller shot in the lane fell short and the Wildcats made free throws to seal the win.

Marcus Miller led the way for the Crusaders scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for a double-double, while nearly making it a triple-double with a career-best seven assists. Dylan Bekemeier led Evangel with 18 points while Cody Geiger chipped in 17.

Gregg Easter led Baker with 20 points including 18 points in the second half while, shooting 4 for 6 from three-point range.

With the loss, Evangel's record drops to 1-7 and 1-2 in the Heart of America conference. Baker improves to 4-5 notching their first conference win of the season to improve to 1-2.

Evangel will be on the road on Saturday when they travel to Lamoni, Iowa to face Graceland in a conference game. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00pm.

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