The Basics
Final: Evangel 77, Williams Baptist 66 | Final Stats
Records: Evangel (5-2); Williams Baptist (5-1)
Site: Ashcroft Center

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel battled back from a nine-point deficit against Williams Baptist, using a strong second-half effort to knock off the previously-unbeaten Eagles by a 77-66 final margin Tuesday evening at the Ashcroft Center.

After Williams Baptist rode a dominant effort by its bench and some red-hot shooting from beyond the arc to build a 40-34 halftime advantage, Evangel countered with some clutch shooting of its own to compliment a shutdown defensive performance in the second half that ultimately gave the Eagles their first setback of the season.

Josh Pritchett connected on 7-of-9 field goal attempts to record a game-high 17 points, while Cade Coffman and Edriel Martinborough combined to total 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to power the EU attack.

Defensively, EU forced 18 WBU turnovers—to go along with a season-high 10 steals—for the night and limited the Ealges to 0.310 (9-of-29) shooting in the second half. Conversely, the Valor lineup heated up to sink 14-of-25 (0.560) field-goal tries after intermission.

The Valor answered a big first-half WBU run by scoring 11 of the first 13 points of the second half to turn the tide for good. Pritchett gave EU a 41-40 advantage with his layup at the 18:09 mark, before four-straight Coffman points pushed the Valor lead to 45-42.

WBU answered with five-consecutive points to reclaim the lead with 14:37 left on the clock, but Evangel would outscore the Eagles by 7-2 margin over the ensuing two minutes. The first nine minutes of the second half would feature four ties and five lead changes before the Valor would take command with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Coffman three-pointer with 11:19 to play.

The Eagles clawed their way back to within two points, and EU led just 67-64 with just under five minutes remaining, before Coffman's conventional three-point play ignited a 10-2 Valor run that closed out the contest.

The first half featured plenty of offensive highlights for both teams. Williams Baptist overcame a hot start by the Valor, as Martinborough converted his first three field-goal attempts over the first two minutes of the contest to help Evangel build an early 9-3 advantage.

The Eagles responded with an 18-6 scoring spurt over a seven-minute span, keyed by Franklyn Petion's eight points off the bench. WBU, which hit on 6-of-13 attempts from beyond the three-point arc in the first half, knocked down a trio of long-range jumpers during the run to establish a 23-17 lead.

After hitting four-straight shots to open the contest, the Valor offense cooled considerably, connecting on just four of its next 16 tries from the floor. EU drew to within 29-28 on a pair of Jace Coffie free throws, but WBU rode back-to-back jumpers by Petion to a 11-6 scoring run that finished the half.

WBU finished the night with a decisive 36-16 advantage in bench scoring, led by 13 points from Petion and 11 from Rajhon McIntosh.

Evangel also enjoyed significant contributions from its bench. Coffie finished with eight points, two boards and a key second-half steal, while Stephen Salvi added five points, and team highs of six rebounds and three steals.

LOOKING AHEAD
Evangel will make the short trip to Drury's O'Reilly Family Event Center Saturday (Nov. 27) for a 3 p.m., tipoff against the Panthers in what will mark the first meeting of the two Springfield programs since the 1999-2000 season.

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—