The Basics
Final: Evangel 65, (RV) Central Methodist 64 | Final Stats
Records: Evangel (7-2, 1-0); Central Methodist (8-2, 0-1)
Site: Puckett Field House

FAYETTE, Mo. – Stephen Salvi scored eight of Evangel's final 12 points, including the go-ahead three-point field goal with 1:14 to play, to help lift the Valor to a 65-64 Heart of America Athletic Conference-opening victory over Central Methodist Wednesday evening at Puckett Field House.

Evangel overcame 0.364 shooting night to post its fifth-consecutive victory. Manrique Alvarado led all scorers with 17 points, thanks to a 7-for-7 night at the foul line, while Salvi matched a season-scoring high with 13 points on his 3-of-7 showing from beyond the arc.

"I was extremely proud of how we finished the game," Evangel head coach Bert Capel stated. "We showed a lot of toughness down the stretch and that won us the game."

After the Eagles scored seven unanswered points to wipe out an a six-point Evangel lead, Salvi tallied five-straight Valor points to help spur EU's late charge. The sophomore sank a critical trey with 5:45 to play, then converted a layup to pull the Valor to within one point with just under four minutes to play.

A pair of Cade Coffman buckets in the paint bookended CMU layups that momentarily gave the home squad a 63-60 advantage.

Tim Cameron, who knocked down 7-of-11 free-throw attempts on the night, hit on just one of his two tries from the stripe 1:18 left in regulation, before Salvi drained the game's biggest shot from the left wing four seconds later to put Evangel in front to stay.

From there, the Valor defense put the clamps on the Eagles to secure the victory. CMU would get off just two more attempts from the field, including a desperation heave from beyond half court as time expired.

The victory followed a back-and-forth first half that featured four ties and nine lead changes, before Evangel used an 11-4 scoring run to take a 30-24 cushion into intermission. Ike Egwu's layup at the 3:54 mark sparked the late run, while Alvarado totaled nine points over the contest's first 20 minutes.

The Valor took full control early in the second stanza, rattling off a 14-4 scoring surge to build its largest lead of the night. After CMU scored the first five points of the half to pull to within 30-29, a Josh Pritchett jumper with 18:21 to play opened the EU run. Baskets by Egwu and Edriel Martinborough, as well as a three-pointer from Alvarado, extended the lead to six points.

Alvarado was fouled in the act of shooting another three and cashed in at the foul line with five-straight makes to extend the margin to 44-33, following a CMU technical foul.

The Eagles answered with a big run of their own, scoring the next 12 points to reclaim the lead. Isaiah May accounted for half of CMU's point total during the outburst, including the go-ahead free throws with 10:56 to play.

Next, it would be the Valor's turn for a momentum-swinging run, as Martinborough converted a three-point play, before layups from Pritchett and Autry Acord gave EU a six-point edge once again.

CMU came right back with nine of the next 11 points, led by a pair of Fode Camara buckets, to jump in front, 56-54.

From there, Salvi and Coffman would shoulder the offensive load by combining to score the final 12 points for Evangel, which recorded its fourth road victory in five games, surpassing its 2020-21 season total for road wins (three) in the process.

Cameron and May each scored 15 points to lead the Eagles, who shot 0.400 for the game. Evangel's stingy defense limited CMU to just 3-of-22 (0.136) from three-point range, however.

LOOKING AHEAD
Evangel will travel to Dubuque, Iowa on Saturday (Dec. 4) for a 2 p.m., Heart Conference matchup against Clarke, before returning to the Ashcroft Center next Tuesday (Dec. 7) to take on Benedictine in its first league home game of the 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—