The Basics
Final: No. 15 USAO 61, Evangel 60 | Final Stats
Records: Evangel (1-1); USAO (1-0)
Site: Ashcroft Center

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Despite battling 15th-ranked USAO for a full 40 minutes, the Evangel men's basketball team came up on the short end of a 61-60 decision, as the Drovers used a strong second-half defensive effort to hand the Valor its first setback of the season Saturday afternoon at the Ashcroft Center.

After Evangel took a one-point lead on Stephen Salvi's turnaround jumper with 32 seconds left in regulation, Cameron Hines banked home the go-ahead bucket for USAO with just under five seconds left on the clock. Edriel Martinborough's last-second shot glanced off the rim to seal the come-from-behind victory for the visiting Drovers.

USAO an early offensive surge by the Valor with a shutdown performance in the second half, holding Evangel to 0.323 shooting (10-of-31) after intermission. EU, which connected on 5-of-15 first-half three-point attempts, converted only 1-of-9 second-half tries from beyond the arc and totaled just 24 points over the final 20 minutes of play.

Hines (10 points) was one of three Drovers to score in double figures, with Stephon Hall registering a game-high 15 on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range, and Jaden Causwell adding 11 points off the bench.

Evangel was paced by Manrique Alvarado's 13 points, while Salvi recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh Pritchett added 10 points and a game-high six assists.

Evangel wasted little time in seizing control of the contest, as Pavel Antonov accounted for seven of the Valor's first 13 points during an early blitz that saw EU build a double-digit lead. Antonov sparked the surge with a three-pointer just 15 seconds into the game, then capped the run with a dunk in transition to give Evangel a 13-2 edge.

The Drovers would score the next eight points to slice the margin to three points, using a trio of Causwell baskets to climb back into the contest.

In a game highlighted by a series of scoring runs for each club, EU responded with an 8-2 run of its own, then rode three-pointers by Pritchett and Alvarado to its largest lead of the afternoon at 31-19 with 3:32 left in the half.

USAO drew to within seven by the end of the half thanks to two more Causwell baskets and a Hines trey. The Drovers went on a 12-0 spurt spanning the final 10 seconds of the first half and the first 3:46 of the second half to flip the score in their favor at 38-36.

After the Valor answered with seven unanswered points to reclaim a five-point lead, three-pointers by Hall and Hines keyed a 10-0 surge for the Drovers.

Evangel once again had a response, using a pair of Salvi layups and a three-point play by Pritchett to take a 54-50 lead with 7:28 to play.

The USAO defense would lock down the Valor attack over the ensuing three-and-a-half minutes, as a Rory Pantophlet bucket with 4:41 left on the clock put the Drovers in front. Boubacar Diakite added a basket that opened up a three-point advantage, before Martinborough ended the EU dry spell with a jumper in the paint at the 4:02 mark.

Neither offense put any points on the board over the next 1:58, but Alvarado's layup at the 2:04 mark gave EU a 58-57 lead.

Pantophlet responded with an emphatic dunk off of an offensive rebound—two of USAO's 10 second-chance points on the day—to put the Drovers on top with 1:40 to play.

After trading missed jumpers over the next minute, Salvi's turnaround jumper in the lane with 32 seconds left on the clock once again gave Evangel a one-point edge. Cade Coffman had the opportunity to extend the lead for the Valor at the foul line, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 14 seconds to go.

Hines drove the right side and knocked down a 10-footer off the glass for the decisive points.

Evangel forced 17 USAO turnovers for the contest, but only managed nine points off of those takeaways. Conversely, the Drovers turned 12 EU turnovers into 19 points.

UP NEXT
Evangel travels to St. Louis Thursday (Nov. 4) for a 6 p.m., non-conference contest against Harris-Stowe.

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