The Basics
Score: Columbia College 76, Evangel 68
Records: Evangel (0-3), Columbia College (3-1)
Location: W.E. Dowell Fieldhouse

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Columbia College rode a late first-half scoring run and a 27-point performance by Tony Burks to a 76-68 victory over the Evangel men's basketball team Friday evening at W.E. Dowell Fieldhouse.

Burks scored the final five points of the Cougars 19-11 run over the last six minutes of the first half, then tallied 18 second-half points to help Columbia (3-1) pull away. The junior guard went 11-of-13 from the free-throw line and recorded 11 of the Cougars' last 12 points to ice the win.

Evangel (0-3) mounted a late charge behind the play of Josh Pritchett and Chris Stocks, as the duo combined to score 15 of the Crusaders' last 19 points. Stocks knocked down three late jumpers and sliced the Cougar lead to 73-68 with his conventional three-point play with just 26 seconds to play.

But Burks delivered at the charity stripe once again, going 7-of-8 from the line in the final 1:26 to keep the Crusaders at arm's length.

Cade Coffman led EU with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Edriel Martinborough added 11 and both Stocks and Pritchett totaled 10 points, helping the Crusaders shoot 0.443 (27-for-61) from the floor.

EU was hampered by 10 second-half turnovers and a lackluster performance at the foul line, converting just 7-of-18 attempts (38.9%) for the game.

Conversely, Columbia College knocked down 17-of-22 (69.0%) free-throw attempts and out-rebounded EU by a 50-39 margin.

Evangel appeared to be poised to take control of the contest after using a 9-2 run midway through the first half to erase a four-point Cougar lead and seize a 20-19 advantage with 6:10 to play—its first lead since scoring on a Martinborough dunk on the game's first possession.

But the Cougars responded with five straight points, reclaiming the lead of Cole Gerken's layup, then extending it to 24-19 on a Trendon Tisdale trey at the 5:30 mark.

Martinborough, who led all scorers with 11 first-half points, answered with a pair of three-pointers over the ensuing three minutes to make it a 29-28 contest with just under three minutes to play. But baskets from Carson Parker and Cameron Vanleer stretched the CC lead back to five, before Burks scored five-straight points to send the Cougars into intermission with their largest lead to that point at 38-31.

The Cougars continued their torrid long-range shooting in the second half, scoring their first nine points after the break on back-to-back triples from Gerken and another three by Burks to take a 47-38 advantage.

After the Crusaders used five straight points from Coffman and a Manrique Alvarado bucket to trim the margin to six points, the Cougars responded with a 6-1 run to push its lead to double-digits with just over 11 minutes to play.

Columbia led by 13 with just over seven minutes left on the clock after completing a 13-6 run, but four-straight points by Pritchett and a Coffman basket momentarily pulled the Crusaders to within 62-55.

Vanleer answered with a layup, and Burks followed with a three-point play to set off his late scoring run that ultimately sealed the outcome.

In addition to Burks' big night, Gerken added 11 points and a game-high four assists, while Vanleer contributed 10 for the Cougars.

UP NEXT
The Crusaders conclude their weekend at the BBC Classic with a 2 p.m. game Saturday (Nov. 14) against Bellevue.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, follow the Crusaders on Facebook at Facebook.com/EUAthletics, Twitter (@EUAthletics), or visit EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the new Evangel Crusaders GamedayApp through Google Play. 

—EvangelAthletics.com—