The Basics 

Score: Evangel 80, Bethany 60

Location: Lindsborg, Kan. (Ray D. Hahn Gymnasium)

Records: Evangel (11-5, 7-3), Bethany (5-10, 1-9)

Box Score 

LINDSBORG, Kan. -- After dropping a tough matchup on the road against a Southwestern team that shot 60 percent, the Valor Men's Basketball team looked to bounce back, taking on the Bethany College Swedes in the final game of their road trip. Both teams played a tightly contested first half, but a dominant effort in the second half pushed EU to their seventh KCAC win of the season, 80-60, over Bethany.

Drew McMillin nailed a pair of three pointers to open Saturday's contest, helping EU jump out to a 9-0 lead. Three pointers from Ty Campbell and McMillin extended the Valor lead to 15-3, but a 8-0 Bethany run allowed the Swedes to draw back within four points, 15-11, with 11 minutes remaining in the first half. The Valor offense helped re-extend their lead over the Swedes and a three pointer from Akarius Staten-Ballance made it a 29-21 EU lead with 4:37 remaining. Bethany would not go down without a fight in the first half though, as the Swedes ended the period on a 10-2 run, forcing both teams to be knotted up at 31-31 at the halftime break.

16 points from Garrett Davault in the second half helped fuel Evangel's offense, as EU was able to open the half with a 9-1 run to lead 40-32 with 17:12 remaining. Bethany cut the Valor lead to three before EU generated a 7-0 run capped off by a McMillin three to make it a 47-37 game. Three pointers from Bryce Ware and Isaac Wootton helped extend the lead as Bethany was unable to keep pace with Evangel's offense. The Valor continued to hit shots down the stretch as another McMillin three gave EU their largest lead of the game (25 pts.), as Evangel took a 80-60 win on Saturday.

QUOTABLE 

"I thought we started the game with a lot of energy and guarded really well. Bethany did a good job fighting back to finish the half," head coach Bert Capel stated. "Once we finally got control of the game in the second half, we did a much better job of finishing the game."

NOTABLE 

• Drew McMillin led Evangel with 24 points in the win, hitting six three pointers.

• Garrett Davault (19 pts.) and Bryce Ware (12 pts.) rounded out double digit scoring on Saturday.

• Harrison Doennig pulled down a team high 16 rebounds, the most by an Evangel athlete since the 2017-18 season (Justin Washington, 16).

UP NEXT

Evangel MBB returns home on Wednesday (Jan. 14) evening, taking on the Avila Eagles at 7:30 p.m. in AGFinancial Arena.

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.