The Basics
Score: Evangel 63, (RV) Saint Mary 62
Location: Leavenworth, Kan. (Ryan Sports Center)
Records: Evangel (6-3, 2-2), Saint Mary (6-3, 1-3)
Box Score
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- Evangel Men's Basketball resumed conference play on Wednesday (Dec. 3) night, traveling to Leavenworth to take on the Saint Mary Spires. In what proved to be a defensive battle, Evangel trailed by three points with 28 seconds remaining, but baskets from Jacob Lafferty and Garrett Davault late in the contest gave EU a 63-62 win over (RV) Saint Mary.
Saint Mary opened Wednesday's contest by taking an early lead, that the Valor would match and eventually overcome, using a basket from Isaac Wootton and Harrison Doennig to give EU their largest lead of the contest, 14-11. The Spires quickly responded by re-taking the lead, but Evangel continued to fight, using three pointers from Wootton and Tommy Pinegar to continue to trade the lead. Baskets from Jacob Lafferty, Ty Campbell, and Garrett Davault on the final shot of the half, made it just a two point Evangel deficit at halftime, 37-35.
Drew McMillin opened the second half with a three pointer to re-give EU a 38-37 lead. A 12-4 Saint Mary run over the following four minutes of play gave the Spires their largest lead of the evening, 49-42, but a 8-0 EU run with several baskets coming from Cade Sutton helped EU again capture the lead, 50-49. Offense became a luxury over the final 10 minutes of Wednesday's game, as 26 combined points would be scored the rest of the way. With 28 seconds remaining in the contest, Saint Mary hit the first free throw, but missed the second, making it a 62-59 ballgame, in favor of the Spires. Jacob Lafferty quickly received a feed in the paint from Garrett Davault, slamming the ball home to draw within a point of the Spire lead. Free throw woes for Saint Mary allowed EU to regain possession, and Davault would score through contact in the paint, giving EU a 63-62 lead with 10 seconds remaining. Saint Mary would have one final opportunity, taking a three point jumper instead of a shot in the paint, missing the final attempt as EU came away with a one point win on Wednesday, 63-62.
QUOTABLE
"Saint Mary guarded us well the whole game," head coach Bert Capel stated. "I thought we made some big plays down the stretch and found a way to finish the game at the end."
NOTABLE
UP NEXT
Evangel MBB returns home on Saturday (Dec. 6) afternoon, taking on the #17 Bethel College Threshers at 2:00 p.m. in AGFinancial Arena. KCAC Gameday Live will preview Saturday's contest at 9:00 a.m. on the KCAC Network on Saturday morning.
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.
