Box Score The Basics
Final: Evangel 89, Drury 62 | Final Stats
Records: Evangel (6-2); Drury (2-4)
Site: O'Reilly Family Event Center
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel's first meeting with Drury in nearly 22 years proved to be a memorable one, as Cade Coffman's career-high 42 points spearheaded a dominant 89-62 Valor victory over the Panthers Saturday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Coffman set the tone for the afternoon on the game's opening possession, rising up and burying the first of his seven three-point field goals to give Evangel a lead it would never relinquish. The senior All-American finished his day 14-of-23 from the floor, pacing an EU attack that shot 51.2-percent for the game to record the Valor's first victory over their NCAA Division II cross-town rivals since January, 25, 1992.
Evangel's defense played a pivotal role in the club's fourth-straight victory as well, limiting the Panthers to just 7-of-27 (0.259) shooting from three-point range and forcing 19 turnovers.
Manrique Alvarado complimented Coffman's effort with a 15-point, eight-rebound afternoon, while Edriel Martinborough added a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards and Josh Pritchett chipped in with eight assists, eight points and seven rebounds.
With the help of Alvarado's 3-of-4 shooting effort from beyond the arc, the Valor used the long ball to stretch its lead throughout the opening stanza, finishing the half 7-of-15 (0.467) from three-point range.
Coffman and Alvarado combined to score 26 of the Valor's first 33 points, while the EU defense forced 14 Drury turnovers and limited the Panthers to 0.321 shooting over the first 20 minutes.
Alvarado's second three of the game with 13:21 left in the half sparked a key early Evangel run, as the Valor outscored the Panthers by an 14-5 margin over the next four minutes to claim a 28-14 advantage.
After DU momentarily sliced its deficit to 11 points on a Quenton Shelton triple, EU would close the half with another big run, scoring 16 of the final 21 points to take a 44-22 advantage into the locker room.
Evangel continued its blitz in the second half as well, as Coffman's three with 16:38 to go extended the margin to 28—the Valor's biggest lead of the day. From there, DU never drew closer than within 20 points down the stretch.
Coffman, who scored 15 in the first half, torched the Panthers in the second half by hitting 8-of-11 shots, including 4-of-6 from three-point range to rack up an additional 27 points. As a team, EU hit on 16-of-32 tries from the floor in the second half to finish the game 32-of-62 from the field.
Shelton led Drury with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while Victor Nwagbarachoa added 12 for the Panthers, who shot 0.414 (24-of-58) as a team.
LOOKING AHEAD
Evangel will open Heart of America Athletic Conference play with a 7:30 p.m. road tilt against Central Methodist Wednesday (Dec. 1) in Fayette, Mo.
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—
