SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – After a nail-biting 77-74 victory in the Round of 16 over the Lewis-Clark State Warriors, the Evangel Men's Basketball team continues their "Cinderella" run, now taking on the number one overall seeded Grace Lancers in the Round of Eight.
Tip-off for Saturday's game is set for 3:00 p.m. in Kansas City, as the Valor look to keep their national title hopes alive and pull off the biggest upset of the season to clinch a spot in the Fab Four.
SERIES HISTORY
Evangel and Grace will match up for the second time in program history on Saturday afternoon in Municipal Auditorium. EU and Grace played back in 1961, where Grace was victorious by a point.
OPENING STORYLINES
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Evangel took a nail biting victory on Thursday night in the Round of 16 to advance to the Round of Eight in the NAIA National Tournament, taking on the top seeded Grace Lancers on Saturday.
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Valor Men's Basketball used clutch shooting and defense in the final minutes of Thursday's match against Lewis-Clark State to take a 77-74 victory over the 11-seed.
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In the KCAC, only Evangel remains after Oklahoma Wesleyan fell to Central Baptist on Thursday afternoon.
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Garrett Davault led the Valor in the previous game, scoring 22 points, his second consecutive game leading the Valor in scoring.
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Evangel and Grace match up for just the second time in Evangel's storied history, as EU fell back in 1961.
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Evangel currently sits with 21 wins, which is head coach Bert Capel's third consecutive season with 20+ wins.
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Four Valor athletes average double digit scoring so far this season, with Josh Pritchett leading the charge with 15.6 points per game.
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If Evangel wins on Saturday, it'll be Evangel's first appearance in the Fab Four since the 2001-02 national championship season and the Valor will be named the champions of the Naismith Quadrant.
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Pritchett ranks in the EU record book in several different categories. Josh currently is 1st all-time in steals (235), 2nd in Evangel history in assists (575), 4th in scoring (2,048), 5th in three point makes (224), as well as 6th in blocks (77).
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Evangel earned their first round of 16 win under head coach Bert Capel on Thursday, moving Capel's postseason record to 4-2 overall.
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Evangel is 1-0 all-time in round of eight matchups in the NAIA National Tournament.
LOOKING AHEAD
With a win, Evangel Men's Basketball advances to the NAIA Fab Four in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium and takes on the winner of #1 Freed-Hardeman and #14 Central Baptist on Monday (Mar. 25) evening at 5:00 p.m. With a loss, the 2023-24 basketball season will come to a conclusion.
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.
