The Basics
Score: Evangel 80, Saint Mary 72
Location: Springfield, Mo. (AGFinancial Arena)
Records: Evangel (15-8, 11-6), Saint Mary (15-8, 9-8)
Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Evangel Men's Basketball hosted the Saint Mary Spires on Wednesday (Feb. 4) evening, looking to take a win against a red hot Spires squad that had won six straight games. Saint Mary pushed Evangel late on Wednesday, but a strong start to the second half proved to be too much for the Spires, as EU came away with a 80-72 win on Wednesday.
Evangel and Saint Mary played a very low scoring start to the first half, as the game was tied 12-12 through the first 11 minutes of play. A three pointer from Tommy Pinegar gave EU a 17-14 lead, one they did not relinquish the remainder of the evening. Baskets from the trio of bigs, Jacob Lafferty, Luke Foster, and Harrison Doennig, allowed EU to take a five point lead, and after a USM basket, Pinegar came away with a steal on a Spire inbound, scoring to make it a 25-20 ballgame. Evangel held a five point lead for much of the rest of the quarter, before Drew McMillin nailed a three pointer to put EU ahead by eight. A Saint Mary free throw capped scoring in the first half, as Evangel led, 35-28, at halftime.
Doennig, Davault, and McMillin had strong starts to the second half and were able to push the Valor out to a 20-point lead, 62-42, with 10:44 remaining in the game. The Spires would not back down in the game though, as Saint Mary began to slowly chip away at Evangel's lead. Several made three pointers from the Spires allowed USM to trail by just single digits, but baskets from Lafferty helped keep distance on the scoreboard for EU. Saint Mary would draw within five points of Evangel's lead, 77-72, with 1:24 remaining, but solid defense from EU and a pair of free throw makes from Davault iced the game away, 80-72, on Wednesday night.
QUOTABLE
"I was really proud of how we guarded tonight," head coach Bert Capel stated. "Saint Mary did a great job of coming back and making plays down the stretch, but we showed some toughness and found a way to finish the game."
NOTABLE
UP NEXT
Evangel MBB travels to York, Neb., on Saturday (Feb. 7) afternoon at 2:00 p.m. to take on the York Panthers.
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.
