The Basics

Score: Evangel 88, Friends 75

Location: Springfield, Mo. (Ashcroft Center)

Records: Evangel (9-9, 7-6); Friends (7-11, 4-9)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Valor Men's Basketball returned home on Wednesday (Jan. 24) evening, playing host to the Friends Falcons in the Ashcroft Center. A scoring outburst in the second half where the Valor scored 53 points helped push the Valor to victory over the Falcons, 88-75.

Friends opened Wednesday night's game with a strong offensive pace. After Manrique Alvarado kicked off scoring with a three pointer, the Falcons would go on a 10-0 run, taking a 10-3 lead over Evangel. The Valor would counter with a 11-4 run of their own to tie the game up at 14-14, thanks to a combined team effort on the run. Both teams would engage in back and forth play in the first half, but a late 6-2 run, including a buzzer-beating three from Friends, would put the Valor in a halftime hole, 35-42.

After a solid first half of play, Broc Smith picked right up where he left off, nailing a pair of threes in the half that helped the Valor kick off scoring. Friends was able to keep a lead in the game up until the 11:52 mark, when a Smith three pointer gave the Valor a 58-56 lead over Friends. The Valor generated their large 24-6 run over a seven minute span late in the second half to put the game away. Evangel shot a scorching 65.4 percent in the second half to ultimately take a 88-75 victory over the visiting Friends Falcons.

QUOTABLE 

"Give credit to Friends, they came out tougher than us in the first half. I'm proud of our guys for coming out strong in the second half, I thought we played tougher than them down the stretch and were able to finish the game," head coach Bert Capel stated.

NOTABLE 

• Josh Pritchett led the way with 18 points in the win on Wednesday.

• Broc Smith scored his career high on Wednesday evening, netting 17 points for the Valor on 5-6 shooting from downtown.

• Josh Mason (17 pts. tied career high), Garrett Davault (14 pts.), and Manrique Alvarado (10 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring for the Valor on Wednesday.

• Evangel moved back to .500 overall with the win (9-9).

• Evangel shot 55.4 percent from the floor, hitting 12 threes in the victory.

NEXT UP 

Evangel will begin their second go-around of conference, taking on the Tabor Bluejays on Saturday (Jan. 27) afternoon at 4:00 p.m. in Hillsboro, Kansas.

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—