The Basics

Score: (13) Evangel 76, Park 75

Records: Evangel 7-1, 2-0; Park 3-4, 1-1

Location: Ashcroft Center | Springfield, Mo.

Box Score

By Mike Bennett, special contributor to EvangelAthletics.com

Coach Bert Capel called it after a recent victory over a top-10 NAIA team.

He said then: the Valor now will get the best from every opponent. 

The target is on their backs.

Such was the case Wednesday night, when the Evangel men's basketball team backed up its brand-new No. 13 national ranking.

Make that barely backed up. The Valor squeaked out a 76-75 victory over the pesky Park Pirates in men's basketball at the Ashcroft Center.

"Park played well. They gave their best effort," Capel said. "On the flip side, we didn't have as much urgency as we should have."

The Pirates in their final moments certainly had urgency.

Park overcame a 15-point deficit in the first half, then rallied again from a five-point deficit with 52 seconds left. They finally forged a lead at 75-74 on a layin by Drew Croft with 8 seconds left.

Then, junior forward Jace Coffie broke away for a layup that was batted back by a Park defender after the ball made it in the cylinder of the hoop. The goal-tending call came with 1.7 seconds left and ended up being the winning points.

Josh Pritchett inbounded the the ball to fellow senior guard Manrique Alvarado, who then made a long pass to catch Coffie in stride.

"We work on that play in practice," Capel said. "It was a great pass." 

But wait: The referees huddled, watched the monitor at the scoring desk and added another 1.4 seconds. 

The extra time gave Park's Lucas Croft the chance to take a pass, make a step and launch a halfcourt shot. Fortunately for the Valor, the ball hit the backboard and then rimmed out.

Evangel led by as much as 10 and never trailed in the second half until the final seconds. A couple swishing treys from the top of the key by DeMarcus Hudson helped bring Park back. He finished with a team-high 16 points. 

"We weren't happy with the way we played, but we still found a way to win," Capel said. "We easily could have lost that game. We'd certainly rather learn from a win than a loss. When you are ranked, you get the other team's best."

The win at the Ashcroft Center was the Valor's sixth in a row and boosted them to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the Heart of America Conference.

Park dropped to 3-4 and 1-1.

Stephen Salvi led the Valor with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Coffie had 14 points – including 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.

Bryce Hunt added 10 points. Autry Acord hit his average of making four steals per game as Evangel totaled 12 (the team average) and forced 18 turnovers by Park.

The Valor barely topped their season scoring average of 75 per game.

"We got the right looks on offense," Capel said. "On the defensive end, we were trading baskets. It wasn't like us. We couldn't get in rhythm."

Pritchett and Alvarado added 13 apiece. Alvarado had six rebounds.

They all played big roles at the end: Pritchett scored on three consecutive drives to the basket – within 1:09 – in the second half. Salvi hit a critical shot with :52 left and Alvarado also had a big trey with 3 minutes to go in efforts to stave off the Pirates.

Evangel took a 40-25 lead with 2:13 left in the first half after a 19-5 scoring run.

But, Park made the final nine points of the half and trailed just 40-34 at halftime.

Evangel returns to action at 2 p.m. Saturday with a game at Grand View in Des Moines, Iowa.

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—