The Basics

Score: Evangel 83, Southwestern 91 

Location: Winfield, Kan. (Stewart Fieldhouse)

Records: Evangel (12-13, 9-10); Southwestern (17-8, 11-8)

Box Score 

WINFIELD, Kan. -- Valor Men's Basketball had a quick turnaround on Tuesday (Feb. 11) evening, having to play a day early due to incoming inclement weather. Traveling to Winfield, Kan., Evangel needed a big win to continue their winning streak against a tough Southwestern opponent who was a game ahead of EU in the conference standings. A strong shooting night for Southwestern hurt Evangel's chances, as the Moundbuilders hit 15 threes, forcing EU to fall, 83-91.

Logan Rodgers opened scoring for the Valor on Tuesday, helping generate an opening 7-1 run, with five points coming from Stephen Salvi. A three pointer from Manrique Alvarado gave Evangel a 15-11 lead with 14:08 remaining in the first half, which proved to be the last Valor lead of the evening. A 24-5 run by Southwestern over the span of seven minutes pushed the home team out to a 35-20 lead over the Valor. EU was able to fight back, using baskets from Alvarado, Rodgers, and Garrett Davault to dwindle the Southwestern lead to just eight points, 42-34, with 3:16 left in the half. The Moundbuilders closed the half out on a run, as EU trailed, 49-37, heading into the halftime break.

Despite Southwestern taking as much as a 16-point lead over Evangel in the opening moments of the second half, the Valor would generate a 23-10 run using several baskets from Bryce Ware and a big three pointer from Luke Foster to draw within three points of the Moundbuilder lead, 63-60. Again, it was the home team that went on another run, hitting clutch shots down the stretch to re-extend the lead back to 16, 80-64, with just six minutes remaining. Although EU would be down 18 points with 3:18 left in the ballgame, they did not back down. Evangel took advantage of missed shots and fouls on Southwestern, going on a 12-0 run in the span of two and a half minutes to trail by just six points, 87-81. The Valor run came too little, too late for Evangel, as Southwestern hit ensuing free throws en route to a Valor loss, 91-83.

QUOTABLE 

"Southwestern came out extremely physical to start the game. I thought we handled it well early, but didn't maintain it," head coach Bert Capel stated. "We played much tougher in the second half, but they hit some tough three pointers at key parts of the game and we could never recover."

NOTABLE 

• Manrique Alvarado led the Valor with 18 points in Tuesday's loss.

• Bryce Ware (13 pts.), Garrett Davault (12 pts.), and Cade Sutton (11 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring on Tuesday.

• Logan Rodgers led EU with five rebounds.

• Southwestern made 15 three pointers on Tuesday, while Evangel made just eight.

UP NEXT 

Valor MBB conclude their road trip on Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon, taking on Bethany College in an imperative 3:00 p.m. matchup as both teams need wins to make the conference tournament.

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.