The Basics

Score: Evangel 91, Tabor 75

Location: Hillsboro, Kan. (Tabor Gymnasium)

Records: Evangel (3-3, 1-2); Tabor (0-5, 0-3)

Box Score 

HILLSBORO, Kan. -- Valor Men's Basketball hit the road on Saturday (Nov. 23) afternoon, taking on the Tabor College Bluejays, as both teams fought to earn their first win in conference play. A balanced offensive game from Evangel helped guide the Valor to victory, 91-75, moving back to .500 on the young 2024-25 season.

The first 10 minutes of Saturday's game were tightly contested, with Evangel struggling offensively and with their ball control, recording several turnovers. Luckily for the Valor, Tabor also struggled on both sides of the ball to open the game. A Tabor jumper with 11:34 remaining in the first half put the Bluejays ahead, 17-15, but this would be Tabor's final lead of the afternoon. Cade Sutton nailed a jumper to tie the game up and ignite a 13-0 run for Evangel, with additional baskets coming from Ty Campbell and Bryce Ware. Leading 28-17, the Valor began to heat up from the floor, hitting several three pointers, including one with 20 seconds remaining in the half from Josh Mason to take a 47-33 lead into the halftime break.

The Valor opened the second half of play by taking their largest lead of the evening, 56-37, on a free throw from Mason. Both teams traded baskets until a Tabor 6-0 run midway through the half narrowed the score to 65-54, in favor of Evangel. Although the Bluejays continued to find looks and score, the Valor offense could not be slowed, continuing to match every basket that the opposing team scored. After a slow first half, Garrett Davault scored 17 points, including nine points in the final 10 minutes of play to lead Evangel back to an 18-point lead and ultimately a 16-point win over the Bluejays, 91-75, their first conference win of the season.

QUOTABLE 

"Being our first home game of the season, I wasn't sure how we would respond. I thought we did a lot of good things tonight," head coach Bert Capel stated. "We still have things we need to work on, but overall it was a good road win."

NOTABLE 

• Garrett Davault led the Valor in scoring with 22 points.

• Carson Cavalier (15 pts.), Manrique Alvarado (13 pts.), and Josh Mason (13 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring for the Valor.

• Davault recorded six rebounds and three steals to lead EU.

• Evangel hit 11 three pointers on Saturday, including five coming from Cavalier.

UP NEXT 

Valor MBB takes a small break and returns to action on Saturday (Nov. 30) afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against the Missouri Baptist Spartans in AGFinancial Arena.

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—