The Basics
Score: Evangel 76, Ottawa 71
Location: Ottawa, Kan. (Wilson Field House)
Records: Evangel (8-3, 4-2), Ottawa (7-4, 4-2)
Box Score
OTTAWA, Kan. -- Evangel Men's Basketball returned to action on Wednesday (Dec. 10) evening, looking to continue their strong play against a tough Ottawa Braves squad that had dropped just one conference game so far this season. The Valor would battle and despite trailing by as much as 10 points in Wednesday's contest, EU would fight back to take a 76-71 road victory over the Braves.
Harrison Doennig and the Ottawa offense traded back-to-back three pointers to open Wednesday's game offensively, as both teams were deadlocked at 6-6 just four minutes into the contest. The Braves would open up a run midway in the first half to take as much as a 10 point advantage over EU, 30-20, with 5:24 remaining in the period. Evangel did not back down, as Garrett Davault scored seven points over the final four and a half minutes to push Evangel right back within reach of the Braves lead, trailing 33-31 at the halftime break.
The Valor would capture the lead four minutes into the second half, as baskets from Davault and Jacob Lafferty gave EU a 37-36 lead. Both Davault and Lafferty kept Evangel in Wednesday's game until Drew McMillin got hot from deep, draining a pair of three pointers and hitting a pair of free throws to extend Evangel's lead to 52-46 with just over 11 minutes remaining. Five consecutive points from Luke Foster paired with a McMillin basket gave EU their largest lead of the night, 63-54, with 6:52 remaining. A basket from Akarius Staten-Ballance kept the run going for EU, but the Braves would come storming back, using a 13-6 run over a five minute span to trail by just two points, 71-69. Davault would hit the front end of a pair of free throws and Ottawa would come down the floor and quickly score to make it just a one point ballgame, 72-71, with 36 seconds remaining. The Braves fouled on the following EU possession and McMillin buried a pair of free throws. Evangel was able to earn a stop defensively leading by three points and Ty Campbell came away with a clutch rebound, nailing a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to ice the game, 76-71, on the road.
QUOTABLE
"I thought Ottawa was the tougher team for most of the first half. We finally finished the first half strong and came out after halftime with the same energy and toughness that got us back in the game in the first half," head coach Bert Capel stated. "We got the stops we needed at the end and hit some big free throws to finish it."
NOTABLE
UP NEXT
Evangel MBB returns home to cap off the 2025 portion of their home schedule, hosting the York Panthers at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 13) afternoon.
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.
