The Basics 

Score: #6 Evangel 80, #3 McPherson 78

Location: McPherson, Kan. (Holman Fieldhouse)

Records: Evangel (19-10), McPherson (20-9)

Box Score 

MCPHERSON, Kan. -- Evangel MBB opened KCAC Conference Tournament play on Thursday (Feb. 26) night, taking on the three-seeded McPherson College Bulldogs on the road. Needing a quality win to keep their season alive and put pressure on the selection committee, the Valor did just that, going on the road in a hostile environment and taking a 80-78 win over McPherson to advance to the KCAC Semifinals on Saturday night.

The first half of play started slow on Thursday, as neither team was able to score much through the first eight minutes of play. Ty Campbell nailed a three pointer to open scoring for EU, followed by a Drew McMillin three to give the Valor a 6-2 lead. A pair of Garrett Davault layups extended the Valor lead to eight points, 10-2, with 13 minutes left in the half. McPherson began to warm up from the field with freshman of the year Korbin Gunn hitting a trio of jumpshots, but Tommy Pinegar and Luke Foster helped keep pace for EU, both nailing three pointers to keep the Valor ahead by six. McPherson began to respond late in the first half, using a 18-4 run to take a 32-24 lead over Evangel with 3:39 remaining. The Valor continued to fight, but McPherson hit a three pointer to close out the half, as EU trailed, 38-32, at the break.

Jacob Lafferty had a monster second half for Evangel, going 7-10 from the floor and scoring 18 points to lead all scorers. After several points from the Sparta native, Lafferty nailed a three pointer to give EU a 42-41 lead with 16:55 remaining in the ballgame. McPherson was able to re-capture the lead and held the advantage until midway through the second half when Isaac Wootton completed an old-fashioned three point play to give EU a 58-56 lead. Baskets from Davault and McMillin helped give the Valor a four point lead, but again, the home team responded by going on a run to take the lead. Harrison Doennig and Lafferty took over late in the ballgame, as the Bulldogs defense could not contest the shots of the EU post players. Leading 70-67 with three minutes left, Evangel was able to earn a trio of stops, using a pair of Davault free throws to take a five point lead, 72-67. McPherson was able to draw within two points on four different occasions in the final minute and a half, getting as close as a point from the lead with just four seconds left, but Davault made the front end of a pair of shots and Doennig blocked a buzzer beating attempt from half court to give EU the upset win on Thursday, 80-78.

QUOTABLE 

"McPherson is a good team. I thought they put us on our heels a little bit in the first half with their defense," head coach Bert Capel stated. "However, I thought our guys did a great job adjusting in the second half. We ran some good offense, guarded and rebounded well, and made some great plays on both sides of the ball to finish the game."

NOTABLE 

• Jacob Lafferty led Evangel with 22 points in the win.

• Garrett Davault (21 pts.) and Drew McMillin (13 pts.) rounded out double-digit scoring on Thursday.

• Harrison Doennig led EU with nine rebounds in the win.

• McMillin passed off a team high five assists.

• Evangel shot 49.2 percent from the floor in the win, holding Friends to just 36.1 percent in the second half (45.9 overall).

UP NEXT

Evangel MBB travels to Wichita, Kan., on Saturday (Feb. 28) night to take on the #2 Friends Falcons at 7:00 p.m. in the Garvey Center for the chance to advance to the conference tournament championship with a win.

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.