The Basics

Score: Evangel 83, York 80

Location: Springfield, Mo. (Ashcroft Center)

Records: Evangel (12-9, 10-6); York (7-15, 5-11)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Valor Men's Basketball concluded their two game home stand on Saturday (Feb. 3) afternoon, hosting the York Panthers, in search of their fourth consecutive win. The Valor would lead by as much as 17 in the game on Saturday, but ultimately York would fight back, drawing the game down to just three points, but the Panthers would miss a pair of shots to end the game, as Evangel took a narrow 83-80 victory.

Both teams played a tightly contested first half of play, as York led the way early, taking a 9-7 lead in the first five minutes of play. A 7-0 Evangel run gave the Valor the lead, 14-9, a lead that the Valor would not lose the remainder of the game. Carson Cavalier would hit a pair of back-to-back threes following the 7-0 run, helping to push the Valor to a 20-11 lead, their largest of the first half. York would draw the Valor lead down to just two points in the first half, 26-24, but Evangel would outscore the Panthers by six, nearly hitting a Cavalier half court buzzer beater to end the half, taking a 43-35 lead into the halftime break.

The Evangel offense came out firing to open the second half, going on an 11-2 run, capped off by a Manrique Alvarado three pointer, to take a 54-37 lead, their largest of the evening with 15:28 remaining. Over the next 12 minutes, Evangel and York traded baskets back and forth, as the Valor held a double digit lead, 79-69, over the Panthers with 3:14 remaining. Despite leading by 10 points, York ended the game on an 11-4 run, making the game close at the end. Turnovers in the final minute hurt Evangel, giving the Panthers basket after basket, making it just a three point game, 83-80, with 22 seconds remaining. Josh Mason was fouled with 11 seconds on the clock and went to the line for a one and one opportunity, but missed the front end opportunity. York pulled down the rebound and DJ Leaks found a wide open opportunity on the right wing, but missed. Leaks rebounded his own shot and had a final wide open opportunity from nearly the same spot, but missed once again, as Evangel escaped with a 83-80 win.

QUOTABLE 

"Coming off an emotional win against Kansas Wesleyan, we needed to find a way to focus in and beat York. I thought we could have put the game away a few times in the second half, but give York credit, they did a good job at hitting shots," head coach Bert Capel stated. "Ultimately, I'm glad we were able to find a way to get the win."

NOTABLE 

• Garrett Davault led the Valor with 23 points in the win.

• Manrique Alvarado (17 pts.), Josh Pritchett (13 pts.), and Jace Coffie (12 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring for Evangel on Saturday.

• EU was outrebounded by York, 35-26, on Saturday.

• Evangel completed the season sweep of York with the win, after defeating the Panthers on the road in the third conference game of the season.

• Evangel shot 50 percent on Saturday, outshooting York by 0.9 percent on Saturday.

NEXT UP 

Evangel will travel to McPherson, Kansas, to take on the McPherson Bulldogs in a crucial conference match at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Feb. 7) evening.

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—