The Basics

Score: Evangel 70, Bethel 73

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Records: Evangel (10-12, 7-9); Bethel (15-7, 11-5)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Valor Men's Basketball hosted the Bethel Threshers on Saturday (Feb. 1) afternoon, looking to continue their strong play in the last few weeks. Both teams played in a back and forth battle that would ultimately come down to the last possession, as the Valor came up just short, falling 70-73.

Garrett Davault opened scoring in the first half, giving Evangel an early 2-0 advantage, but the EU offense grew cold, failing to score again until the 14:36 mark, while Bethel scored 11 straight. The Valor defense settled in and was able to get stops, scoring on the other end with baskets coming from Harrison Doennig and Luke Foster to push Evangel to trail 18-19, before Davault scored to give EU a 20-19 lead with 5:50 remaining in the half. Both teams traded the lead on several occasions before Bethel went on a 9-3 run to lead 28-34 with 2:23 remaining. A pair of three point baskets from Ty Campbell paired with a basket from Harrison Doennig on the final possession made it a 36-36 deadlocked game at halftime.

Evangel used baskets from Manrique Alvarado and Logan Rodgers to carry a lead until the 15:29 mark of the second half, 45-44. A 6-0 Bethel run gave the Threshers a 45-50 lead before a basket from Campbell and jumper from Stephen Salvi made it 49-50. Bethel was able to again generate an 11-2 run to extend their lead, 51-62, with 9:06 remaining. The Valor spent the following five minutes consistently getting the Thresher lead down to seven points before a Bryce Ware jumper with 3:43 left in the game made it 65-70. Evangel was able to get a pair of stops, but were unable to score on either. A pair of Davault floaters proved clutch as EU trailed 69-71, with 1:15 remaining. The Valor were able to get a stop on the ensuing possession and Salvi was fouled with 35 seconds remaining, giving Evangel a pair of free throws. Salvi missed the front end, but made the second, making it 70-71. Strong defensive pressure for Evangel forced a tipped ball, but a timeout was awarded to the Threshers. After a free throw miss from BC, Evangel had a chance, but a three pointer from Carson Cavalier came up short, again forcing the Valor to foul. The Threshers hit both free throws, giving EU the ball with 7.4 seconds remaining and a chance at a last shot down three, 70-73. Bethel immediately fouled, sending Campbell to the free throw line. After a miss on the first free throw, Evangel needed to miss intentionally to have an opportunity at a tie. The Campbell miss was able to give Cavalier a wild attempt at a three that wound up long, as EU fell by a narrow margin to the fourth ranked team in the conference, 70-73.

QUOTABLE 

"Bethel was hot coming into today's game. We knew it would be a challenge and I thought we guarded them really well, but struggled to consistently make shots and free throws," head coach Bert Capel stated. "We had a chance to win it at the end and came up just a little short. We have to regroup and get ready for a tough Saint Mary team on Wednesday."

NOTABLE 

• Garrett Davault led the Valor with 14 points in Saturday's loss, also pulling down a team high nine rebounds.

• Harrison Doennig and Ty Campbell scored 10 points to round out double digit scoring for EU.

• Evangel shot just 40 percent from the floor, compared to Bethel's 43.8 percent.

• The Valor shot 2-11 from three in the second half.

UP NEXT 

Valor MBB hits the road on Wednesday (Feb. 5) evening, taking on the Saint Mary Spires at 7:30 p.m. in Leavenworth, Kansas.

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—