The Basics

Score: Evangel 51, (RV) Oklahoma Wesleyan 84 

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Records: Evangel (12-15, 9-12); OKWU (21-6, 18-3)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Valor Men's Basketball returned home on Thursday (Feb. 20) evening, looking to close out the regular season with a pair of tough KCAC teams. The Valor took on Oklahoma Wesleyan in their first matchup, looking to earn a win against the number one team in the conference standings. A tough shooting night for the Valor proved detrimental to their chances in the game, as EU fell, 84-51,

Oklahoma Wesleyan opened Thursday's matchup on a 15-4 run, taking advantage of poor rebounding from the Valor and scoring most of their points in the paint on second chances. A three pointer from Carson Cavalier and jumper from Luke Foster helped the Valor trail by just eight, 17-9, with 14:07 remaining in the half. The Eagles were consistently able to score while Evangel was stuck in our drought midway through the first period, as OKWU jumped out to as much as a 28-point lead with four minutes remaining in the first half. Bryce Ware led Evangel in the first half, scoring eight points to pace the Valor and EU was able to close the half on a small run, trailing 47-24 at the end of the period after OKWU hit a buzzer beating floater.

After Manrique Alvarado hit a jumper to open the half, Oklahoma Wesleyan generated a 6-0 run to jump back out to a 27-point lead, 53-26. Both teams continued to battle into the second half and the Valor would use a 8-2 run until the 9:42 mark to trail by 19, 62-43. The Eagles again went on a 19-2 run out of the media timeout, taking their largest lead of the evening, 81-45. Evangel continued to fight, but could not generate enough points in the final five minutes of play, falling 84-51.

NOTABLE 

• Manrique Alvarado led EU with nine points in the loss.

• Garrett Davault passed off a team high four assists.

• Cade Sutton pulled down a team high five rebounds.

• Evangel's 51 point effort is the lowest amount of points scored in a game this season.

UP NEXT 

Evangel concludes their regular season on Saturday (Feb. 22) afternoon, hosting the Sterling College Warriors in a win or go home finale at 3:00 p.m. for senior day. Senior day festivities will take place between the women's and men's games.

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.