Box Score
Score: Evangel 84, Missouri Baptist 63
Location: Olathe, Kansas (Cook Center)
Records: Evangel (1-0); Missouri Baptist (0-1)
Box Score
OLATHE, Kan. -- The Evangel Valor men's basketball team earned an 84-63 opening night victory Friday over Missouri Baptist on day one of the Jeff Uphaus Memorial Tournament.
Evangel (1-0) broke open the game early in the second half after Missouri Baptist (0-1) had tied the game at the 16-minute mark. The Valor would force four turnovers in the span of nearly two minutes as Stephen Salvi, Jace Coffie, and Josh Pritchett all contributed to a 7-0 run to help build a 47-40 lead.
Pritchett would score 12 of the next 16 Valor points to help build an 18-point lead with 11:41 left in the game. Pritchett led the way for Evangel with a career-high 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting while adding six assists.
A solid defensive effort saw Evangel force 21 Spartan turnovers and tallied 14 steals, led by Autry Acord with four.
Bryce Hunt also eclipsed the 20-point mark in his first game with the Valor, finishing with 21 points and eight rebounds.
"Tonight was a good win over a national tournament team from a year ago. Anytime you can pick up those wins is good. I was happy with our effort on defense tonight, it helped spark us in the second half and create the separation that we need."
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Senior Josh Pritchett recorded a career-high 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting and knocking down four three-pointers.
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Coppin State transfer Bryce Hunt scored 21 points in his first game with the Valor.
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Seniors Edriel Martinborough and Pritchett each tallied six assists to lead Evangel. The Valor finished with 22 assists.
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Evangel tallied 14 steals as a team in the win. Last season, the Valor recorded 14 or more steals just twice.
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The 63 points for Missouri Baptist are six points below the average allowed by Evangel last season.
NEXT UP
Evangel continues tournament action in Olathe against future KCAC opponent Sterling (Kan.) College. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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.
