The Basics

Score: Evangel 71, Oklahoma Wesleyan 103

Location: Bartlesville, Okla. (Mueller Sports Complex)

Records: Evangel (8-11, 5-8); Oklahoma Wesleyan (13-6, 10-3)

Box Score 

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -- Valor Men's Basketball hit the road on Wednesday (Jan. 22) evening, traveling to Oklahoma to take on the Eagles of Oklahoma Wesleyan. In search of another win after defeating Kansas Wesleyan on Saturday, Evangel could not keep pace with the Eagles offense, as a tough night of shooting and several uncharacteristic turnovers hurt the Valor's chances, as EU fell, 71-103.

A Garrett Davault floater and Isaac Wootton jumper gave Evangel an early 4-0 lead over the Eagles, but a scoring drought allowed Oklahoma Wesleyan to generate a 10-0 run to lead 4-10 over EU with 14:15 remaining in the first half. An old fashioned three point play for Stephen Salvi made it a 7-10 game, but again, Evangel grew cold from the floor, as OKWU went on a 9-0 run to take a 12 point lead, 7-19, with 10:26 remaining. Davault scored a layup and hit a three pointer to break the Eagles run, cutting the deficit back down to single digits, but again Oklahoma Wesleyan forced Evangel turnovers and pushed out another run in the final minutes of the first half, as the Valor trailed, 31-46, at the halftime break.

Davault scored a quick basket to open the second half, making it a 33-46 game, as Evangel looked to settle in offensively in the final half of play. OKWU made sure that Evangel was unable to find any footing on offense, as the Eagles rattled off a 20-3 run in the first six minutes of play to extend their lead to 36-66 over the Valor. Ty Campbell was able to reignite the Valor offense and break the scoring run, but again, the Eagles had all the answers on Wednesday night, jumping out to as much as a 38-point lead before Kaleb Wofford hit a three to stop the scoring drought. Evangel could not do much more in terms of drawing within the Eagles, as they fell 71-103 on Wednesday.

QUOTABLE 

"Oklahoma Wesleyan is a tough team, especially at home. We made some mistakes in the first half, but I thought we finished strong," head coach Bert Capel stated. "I was disappointed that we didn't play tougher in the second half after we cut the lead to 11. OKWU made a run at us after that and we could never get it turned around."

NOTABLE 

• Garrett Davault led the Valor with 16 points in Wednesday's loss.

• Isaac Wootton scored 10 points, rounding out double digit scoring for EU.

• Bryce Ware and Davault passed off a team high three assists.

• Davault and Wootton finished with four rebounds.

• Evangel's 32 point loss is the largest deficit in a game since 2021.

UP NEXT 

Valor MBB travels to Sterling, Kan., on Saturday (Jan. 25) afternoon, taking on the Sterling College Warriors at 3:00 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—