Box Score The Basics
Score: (20) Evangel 97, Peru State 90
Location: Springfield, Mo. (Ashcroft Center)
Records: Evangel (11-2, 6-1), Peru State (9-4, 4-3)
Story by Mike Bennett, contributor to www.evangelathletics.com
Thank goodness for lessons learned and for playing up to the competition.
Senior guard Josh Prichett scored 30 points on Saturday as hot-shooting Evangel erased the bad taste of a home loss last weekend with a 97-90 victory over Peru State.
This win was over a tough and talented Heart Conference contender that came in at 9-3 overall and 4-2 in league. The previous Saturday afternoon's loss at Ashcroft Center was to Mount Mercy, a team that was then 0-4 in the Heart.
Oh, well. Lesson learned, indeed.
"It was much different," said guard Manrique Alvarado about playing against Peru State. "It was how we came into the game. We were locked in, ready to win. They (Bobcats) are a very good team with great shooters."
In fact, Peru State forward Sayvon Traylor also scored 30 points – hitting 12-for-14 on field goals and 4-for-5 on 3-point attempts.
Evangel converted on 37-of-61 field-goal attempts for a sizzling 60.7% and was 11-for-22 for 50% on treys.
Pritchett scored 20 points in the second half alone. The senior from Rolla averaged a team-high 17.2 points coming in and bettered that considerably by making 11-for-13 in field goals, 4-for-5 in 3-pointers and 4-for-5 on free throws. He also dished out four assists.
Alvarado scored 14 points and hit 3-for-6 on 3-point field-goal attempts and also added three assists. He noted that Evangel had lost in the last two seasons heading into the Christmas break and the Valor certainly didn't want that to happen again. "It feels so much better to go home with a win," said the junior from Cartago, Costa Rica.
It also felt a lot better to triumph on a Saturday afternoon at home. "It was weird. We know how good we are but we were not as ready last week (against Mount Mercy)," he said. "When we play big-time opponents we have to show up and do it every time."
The Valor enter the Christmas break with a 11-2 record and 6-1 in the Heart Conference. They also come in after scoring their highest output of the season. They were averaging 74.8 ppg coming in.
"Even though we stubbed our toe, I believe we are in a good spot," said Evangel Coach Bert Capel. "We just didn't guard them (Peru State). I thought the effort was good and we were focused on finishing the game off."
Evangel advanced the lead to 16 – at 66-50 – with 15:07 left and led 79-67 with 8:45 to go. But, the Bobcats kept driving and trimmed the lead to two points with 1:43 left.
Pritchett drove for layups at 1:21 and :57 to make it 91-86.
Pritchett and senior guard Edriel Martinborough made a pair of free throws and Alavardo and junior guard Stephen Salvi had one apiece as Peru State was forced to foul in the final seconds.
Alvarado scored 11 points as Evangel set the pace Saturday by taking a 52-46 lead into halftime.
Freshman guard Garrett Davault scored 14 points (on 6-for-7 shooting), while Salvi and Martinborough had 10 points apiece.
Martinborough added a team-high five rebounds and also three assists. Junior forward Jace Coffie made six assists to lead the Valor. He and junior guard-forward Broc Smith scored seven points apiece.
Peru State shot 48.5% on field goals, but was only 7-for-26 on trey attempts (26.9%).
The latter statistic was a major difference in the game. The Bobcats hit 17-of-22 free throws and had a 36-32 advantage in rebounds.
The Valor don't play again until 2023. They visit Missouri Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 4.
The Vikings are 3-9 and 2-5 after a 79-74 victory in overtime on Saturday against visiting Grand View.
Capel said he told his players to have a great break, but make sure to keep up the fitness and playing levels: "Go home and enjoy your family, but remember we have work to do," he said. "Come back and be ready to finish up the year."
