The Basics

Score: (18) Evangel 68, Park 65 

Location: Parkville, Mo. (Breckon Sports Center) 

Records: Evangel (16-3, 11-2); Park (5-13, 3-10) 

Box Score 

PARKVILLE, Mo. -- After a strong second half against Central Methodist, Evangel Men's Basketball looked to carry over the offensive outburst in their matchup with Park on Thursday night. Although being outscored in the first half, Evangel found a groove on offense and outscored the Pirates by five in the final half, taking a narrow 68-65 win over Park.

Similar to the women's game, the Park Pirates jumped out to an early advantage, 9-2, putting Evangel in an early deficit. A pair of Jace Coffie free throws, three point basket by Josh Pritchett and a layup by Edriel Martinborough tied the game up at 9-9. Evangel was able to push out to a four point lead when Garrett Davault scored a layup at the 11:55 mark, but the Pirates would not slow down, quickly evening up the score. The remainder of the final 10 minutes of the half consisted of back and forth play with neither team able to pull out a large lead. Park scored a layup to push out to a four point lead with 18 seconds left. On the final possession of the half, Pritchett would be fouled on a three, and hit two of his three free throws to trail by just two points at halftime, 34-32.

The Valor opened the first 2:20 of the half on a 10-0 run, racing out to a 42-34 lead. After trading baskets, Evangel was able to push out to a 10 point lead at the 13:59 mark. After grabbing their double digit lead, the Valor were met by resistance from the Pirates. Park used a 9-0 run in the span of three minutes to narrow Evangel lead to just a single point. Strong offense from Stephen Salvi helped the Valor grab a seven point lead with 6:46 remaining in the game, but in just two minutes the game was tied at 59 points apiece. Back and forth baskets between both teams resulted in a 65-65 game with 2:37 remaining. The Valor needed a basket to take the lead and it would be senior Autry Acord who scored the final three Evangel points to give the Valor a 68-65 lead. With eight seconds remaining in the game, Park went to inbound for a chance at a game tying three, but a poked ball would be stolen by Acord to solidify the Valor win, 68-65.

NOTABLE 

• Salvi led Evangel with 15 points and seven rebounds in the win.

• Evangel shot 43 percent from the floor compared to Park's 47 percent.

• Pritchett and Manrique Alvarado rounded out double digit scoring for the Valor, both with 14 points apiece.

• Acord finished with two steals, including one that solidified the Valor victory on Park's final possession.

• Evangel continued their strong record on the road, moving to 8-1 in true road games.

• Evangel forced 15 turnovers in the win.

NEXT UP 

Evangel has a quick turnaround, hosting Missouri Valley on Saturday (Jan. 21) afternoon at 4:00 p.m. in the Ashcroft Center.

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—