Springfield, Mo. – Sedrick Johnson's lay-up with eight seconds remaining broke a 57-57 tie and gave Avila a 59-57 win over Evangel on Wednesday in the Ashcroft Center. 

Dylan Bekemeier tied the game at 57 with a three-pointer with only 20 seconds remaining before Johnson's basket 12 seconds later. 

Evangel led 23-19 at halftime and built an 11 point lead early in the second half before Avila pulled close with an 8-0 run. 

The Eagles pulled down 23 offensive rebounds and had a 44-36 advantage on the glass. 

Bekemeier had 16 points to lead Evangel as he went 4 for 6 from three-point range. Cody Geiger had 12 points, all in the second half. Johnson 17 points, 13 of them in the second half. Nixa product Jordan Epps, playing in his first game of the season for the Eagles, also had 17. 

"We did some things better but we just gave up too many offensive rebounds," said Evangel head coach Steve Jenkins. "There were also too many empty possessions. We're going to look back at tonight and regret some of our turnovers that were just some careless mistakes." 

Evangel dropped to 2-12 and 1-5 in the Heart of America conference. Avila's win put them at 9-4 and 3-3 in the league.  

Evangel travels to fifth-ranked William Penn for their next game on Saturday. Tipoff is 4 p.m. in Oskaloosa, Iowa.  

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