Men
Evangel jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the opening seven minutes at Missouri Valley and never looking back rolling to a 94-76 win over the Vikings in Marshall, Missouri on Wednesday night.
The Crusaders shot a season high 55 percent from the field hitting 38 of 69 shots and their 94 points was also their best total of the season.
Evangel led 48-26 at halftime and maintained a 20-point lead until the Vikings pulled as close as 14 trailing 80-66 with 5:34 left. The Crusaders responded by scoring the next six points and closed the game out to win by 18.
Cody Geiger had a career high 26 points on 12 of 16 shooting from the field while Jalen Norman went 7 for 7 from the floor to add 16. Richard Chapman had 18 points for the Crusaders.
Brody Gronewald led the Vikings with 26 points.
"We were patient on offense and when we slowed the game down on our offensive end, we got some great shots," said Evangel head coach Steve Jenkins. "I thought it was the best we've played as a team all year."
The Crusaders improved to 4-15 and 3-8 in the Heart of America conference. Missouri Valley dropped to 9-10 and 4-7 in the league.
Evangel is on the road again Saturday when they play at Grand View. Tipoff is 4 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa.
Women
Evangel women’s basketball fell on the road Wednesday night suffering a narrow 72-66 defeat to Missouri Valley.
Missouri Valley led by two points at halftime in the back-and-forth game that saw 13 lead changes and 11 ties. Allison Swanson tied the game at 66-66 with two free throws with 1:18 remaining. However, an offensive rebound by Deidra McCoy coupled with two free throws put Evangel behind for good as Missouri Valley hit four more free throws in the game's final minute to secure the win.
Alison Jarrell led all scorers with 20 points, shooting 7 of 14 from the field and 6 of 13 from the three point line to go along with three rebounds. Taylor Longley contributed 14 points and six assists for the Crusaders.
Deidra McCoy and Andressa Augusto each had 18 points for the Vikings.
With the loss, Evangel’s record drops to 5-11 and 4-7 in the Heart of America conference. Missouri Valley improves to 7-8 and 5-6 in the conference.
Evangel will be on the road on Saturday when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa to play at Grand View for the first time in program history. Both teams are tied for eighth place in the Heart of America. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00pm.
