The Basics
Final: Evangel 85, Arkansas Baptist 53 | Final Stats
Records: Evangel (4-2); Arkansas Baptist (1-9)
Site: W.E. Dowell Fieldhouse

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel closed the first half on a 23-7 scoring run to take control of a tight contest with Arkansas Baptist, then pulled away with a big second half for an 85-53 victory over the Buffaloes Saturday afternoon on day two of the BBC Classic at W.E. Dowell Fieldhouse.

Cade Coffman sank three of his career-best six three-pointers during the Valor's key scoring run and finished with a game-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Evangel held ABC to 0.333 shooting—and just 3-of-19 from three-point range—while forcing 17 turnovers to lock up the 32-point win, which marked the Valor's largest margin of victory since a 112-53 win over BBC on Dec. 4, 2019.

The Valor led 19-16 midway through the first half when a Pavel Antonov basket started a 12-0 Evangel outburst that would turn the tide for good. Evangel's defense played a pivotal role, holding the Buffaloes scoreless for over seven minutes while the EU offense kicked into high gear behind the long-range shooting of Coffman and Manrique Alvarado, who teamed up to drill four three's as part of the momentum-swinging surge that handed the Valor a 19-point lead heading into intermission.

Evangel stretched its advantage to 25 points early in the second stanza, as Edriel Martinborough knocked down a trio of shots in the first three minutes of the half.

Arkansas Baptist answered with a string of nine unanswered points to draw back to within 16 of Evangel, but a pair of Stephen Salvi jumpers started a 22-5 EU run that put the game out of reach.

Martinborough added 15 points on a 7-of-8 shooting performance, while Salvi came off the bench to chip in 10 points for the Valor, which led by as many as 34 in the closing minutes of the contest.

Evangel finished the game 32-of-69 (0.464) from the floor and 12-of-30 (0.400) from beyond the arc. A balanced Valor attack included 12 different players who tallied at least one field goal and a bench that outscored the ABC reserves by a 34-8 margin.

UP NEXT
After a 10-day hiatus, Evangel returns to action Nov. 23 with a 7:30 p.m., non-conference contest against Williams Baptist at the Ashcroft Center.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.  

—#OneValor—