The Basics

Score: Evangel 77, Kansas Wesleyan 74

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Records: Evangel (8-10, 5-7); Kansas Wesleyan (10-8, 4-8)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Valor Men's Basketball returned home on Saturday (Jan. 18) afternoon, looking to bounce back after a road loss to the Avila Eagles on Wednesday. A strong overall effort and balanced scoring game for the Valor helped guide EU back to the winning column in a 77-74 win over Kansas Wesleyan.

Kansas Wesleyan jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Evangel before a Carson Cavalier layup opened scoring for the Valor. The Coyotes spent much of the first half with around a seven point lead and with 7:10 remaining, a tip in from Cade Sutton and three pointer from Stephen Salvi made it just a two point Coyote lead, 19-21. Salvi continued his strong half by hitting a jumper and getting EU within a point, but again, a Kansas Wesleyan run extended the Coyotes lead back to nine points with 2:11 remaining in the first half. An and-one from Garrett Davault paired with a three pointer from Salvi closed the first half with EU trailing, 31-34.

Evangel came out with strong shooting, using three pointers from Carson Cavalier and Salvi again to give the Valor their first lead of the afternoon, 37-34. Both teams fought over the following four minutes to keep the game tied with consistently traded baskets. The KWU big man went on a run of his own to help push the Coyotes out to a six point lead, 49-55. Harrison Doennig and Garrett Davault began to both slowly chip away from the Coyotes lead and a 12-3 run, with all baskets coming from the duo, gave EU a 61-58 lead with 8:19 remaining. KWU would tie the game back up at 61 with just under eight minutes remaining, but a Logan Rodgers three pointer put EU back up, 64-61. The Coyotes were able to turn momentum slightly as a three pointer with just over five minutes remaining gave KWU a three point lead. Evangel continued to fight and a slam with two minutes left from Bryce Ware had the Valor trailing by just one, 73-74. Evangel took advantage of a miss and a Salvi basket gave EU the lead, 75-74. The Valor defense was able to force a pair of misses on the KWU offensive end and Davault buried a pair of free throws to give EU a 77-74 lead. Kansas Wesleyan had an opportunity with the ball with 10.4 seconds remaining, but a block from Manrique Alvarado and a missed attempt at the buzzer preserved a 77-74 win for EU over the Coyotes on Saturday.

QUOTABLE 

"I thought we started the game playing really well. We were getting stops but were having trouble scoring," head coach Bert Capel stated. "We competed well in the second half, finishing the game strong, like we've been talking about. Credit to our guys for getting a win against a solid Kansas Wesleyan team."

NOTABLE 

• Stephen Salvi led the Valor with 14 points and nine rebounds in the win.

• Garrett Davault (13 pts.), Harrison Doennig (11 pts.), Bryce Ware (10 pts.), and Manrique Alvarado (10 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring.

• Manrique Alvarado passed off a team high five assists.

• Davault pulled away a team high three steals.

UP NEXT 

Valor MBB travels to Bartlesville, Okla., to take on the Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 22) 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—