The Basics 

Score: Evangel 74, Bethany 52

Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)

Records: Evangel (17-9, 13-7), Bethany (7-18, 3-17)

Box Score 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Evangel Men's Basketball took on the Bethany College Swedes on Saturday (Feb. 14) afternoon, looking to take a win on senior day and their final home game of the season. The Valor defense held Bethany to just 16 first half points, pushing their way to a 74-52 win on Saturday.

Bethany and Evangel traded baskets to open Saturday's game, 4-4. The Swedes only hit two additional shots the remainder of the 18:32 in the first half, as a 6-0 Evangel run with all baskets coming from senior Garrett Davault gave EU a 10-4 lead. After hitting four free throws, Evangel's defense held Bethany's offense to mainly free throws in the period, as EU took a 17-point lead off of a three pointer from Tommy Pinegar and layup from Bryce Ware, 25-8. Harrison Doennig nailed a three pointer and Garrett Davault slammed the ball home to extend Evangel's lead to 36-14, before Cade Sutton closed out the half with a layup to lead 40-16 at halftime.

10 different Evangel athletes scored in the second half, as Pinegar nailed a pair of three pointers to lead all scorers. Baskets from Jacob Lafferty paired with a three pointer from Drew McMillin gave EU their largest lead of the afternoon, 47-20, with 16:56 remaining. Over the following five minutes, Bethany was able to cut into Evangel's lead, trailing by 17 points, 55-38, with 9:54 left in the second half. Evangel responded with a Ware three pointer, followed by a Dane Foster jumper to re-extend Evangel's lead to 68-44. Kaleb Wofford and Foster both closed out scoring on senior day as the damage had been done early on Saturday, resulting in a 74-52 win over the Swedes.

QUOTABLE 

"I was proud of how we played today," head coach Bert Capel stated. "It was a special day for our seniors and I was glad we were able to send them out the right way."

NOTABLE 

• Garrett Davault led Evangel with 16 points in the win.

• Jacob Lafferty rounded out double digit scoring on Saturday, putting forth 11 points.

• Cole Griesemer pulled down a team high seven rebounds.

• Davault came away with four steals in the win.

UP NEXT

Evangel MBB travels to 5th ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan on Wednesday (Feb. 18) night, looking to pull off an upset victory in Bartlesville, Okla., at 7:30 p.m.

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.