The Basics

Score: Evangel 83, Saint Mary 84

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Records: Evangel (4-4, 1-3); Saint Mary (6-3, 4-0)

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Valor Men's Basketball took on the Saint Mary Spires on Wednesday (Dec. 4) evening, looking to build off their back to back wins and defeat the 3-0 in conference play Spires. Despite holding a late lead, the Valor would end up on the losing end of a near buzzer beating three pointer from Saint Mary, falling 83-84, on Wednesday.

In the first five minutes of action, Evangel took a pair of five point leads over Saint Mary, using a three pointer from Carson Cavalier and a basket from Manrique Alvarado to lead, 11-6. A 9-0 Spires run put Saint Mary ahead, 15-11, but the Valor continued to fight, using baskets from Isaac Wootton, Ty Campbell, and Josh Mason to retake the lead. The final five minutes of the first half were tightly contested, as both teams scored several baskets to keep the game competitive and a late three pointer from Cavalier pushed the Valor to a 38-38 tie at the halftime break.

Saint Mary did most of their work at the free throw line in the second half, shooting 21 free throws in the period alone. With 13 minutes remaining in the game, the Valor were able to race out to a nine point lead on a Garrett Davault basket, 56-47, before the Spires fought back. Despite drawing within three points, Evangel went on another run, using a pair of threes from Cavalier and Cole Griesemer to take a 66-57 lead. Again, Saint Mary fought to draw to a tie with Evangel and with 5:17 remaining, baskets would begin to be traded. The Spires took a 75-71 lead over EU and baskets from Davault as well as a pair of three's from Cavalier pushed EU out to a 79-75 lead with just over two minutes remaining. With 1:31 on the clock and a five point Evangel lead, Saint Mary began to chip away. Evangel led 83-81, with 20 seconds remaining in the contest. The Spires missed their first look at three with seven seconds left and the Valor were unable to secure the rebound, as USM found a open man in the corner who buried a three pointer to give the Spires a 84-83 lead over EU. With just 0.2 seconds remaining, Davault threw a long pass that was slapped by Cade Sutton, but unfortunately was wide right of the goal, forcing the Valor to fall, 84-83.

QUOTABLE 

"Saint Mary is a good team and I thought we played really well on both ends of the floor again. We just made too many mistakes throughout the game that put us in a tough situation at the end of the game," head coach Bert Capel stated. "If we can get those things corrected, I like our chances moving forward."

NOTABLE 

• Carson Cavalier led the Valor with 17 points in the loss.

• Garrett Davault (16 pts.), Josh Mason (14 pts.), and Manrique Alvarado (13 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring for the Valor.

• Davault pulled down a team high nine rebounds.

• Saint Mary was awarded 32 free throw attempts to Evangel's 16 in the loss for EU.

UP NEXT 

Valor MBB returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 7) afternoon, traveling to North Newton, Kansas, to take on Bethel College at 2:00 p.m.

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—