The Basics

Score: Evangel 89, Missouri Baptist 76

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Records: Evangel (4-3); Missouri Baptist (2-6)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Valor Men's Basketball returned home on Saturday (Nov. 30) afternoon, hosting the Missouri Baptist Spartans in a non-conference matchup, looking to break their three-game home losing streak. A strong first half where the Valor would score 52 points helped push the Valor to victory, 89-76, their fourth of the season.

Josh Mason opened Saturday's game by scoring the first five points of the afternoon for Evangel, helping the Valor push out to a 5-2 lead. A layup from Harrison Doennig helped Evangel take a 12-6 lead in the period, but the Spartans went on a 9-0 run, to take a 15-12 lead over the Valor with 13:31 remaining in the first half. Isaac Wootton stalled the Spartan run by nailing a three pointer to even the score. All knotted up at 17-17, Evangel used a 9-2 run to lead Missouri Baptist, 26-19. Neither team could make much more of a scoring change over the following four minutes and in the final minutes of the half, the Valor again generated a late run. Cade Sutton and Carson Cavalier scored 13 of Evangel's 17 points to end the half, as EU led, 52-34, at the halftime break.

The Spartan offense came out and went on a 7-0 run to open the second half, making it a 52-41 ballgame with 17:18 remaining. The Valor were able to push out to as much as a 19-point lead in the second half over Missouri Baptist, but were unable to extend it anymore past that point. The Spartans fought, drawing within 10 points on several occasions of the lead, but Evangel always found an answer or a defensive stop to keep Missouri Baptist from threatening the lead. With three minutes left in the contest, Missouri Baptist made it just a eight point game, but missed opportunities from the Spartans offense kept Missouri Baptist from a late run, and free throw makes from the Valor in the final minutes pushed Evangel to a 89-76 win on Saturday, their second consecutive of the season.

QUOTABLE 

"I thought we played both sides of the ball really well today. We are working at continuing to get better each game and I thought we did that this afternoon," head coach Bert Capel stated. "I'm thankful for this team and everyone that came out to support us during the Thanksgiving holiday!"

NOTABLE 

• Carson Cavalier and Garrett Davault both scored 13 points to lead Evangel.

• Manrique Alvarado (15 pts.), Josh Mason (12 pts.), and Ty Campbell (12 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring for the Valor.

• Alvarado displayed his strong court vision, passing off a team high 12 assists to earn a double-double.

• Evangel shot an impressive 28-30 from the free throw line in the win.

UP NEXT 

Valor MBB returns to action on Wednesday (Dec. 4) evening, hosting the Saint Mary Spires in a conference matchup at 7:30 p.m. in AGFinancial Arena. Mediacom22 will broadcast Wednesday night's game live on the KCAC Network.

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.