Canton, Mo. — Despite shooting 27 percent from the field Saturday, the Crusaders stayed close most of the game but Culver-Stockton pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Evangel 54-42 in Canton, Missouri.
The Crusaders made 15 of their 55 shot attempts and were only 7 for 13 from the foul line. Evangel pulled within three trailing 30-27 late in the third quarter. Culver-Stockton outscored Evangel 24-15 the rest of the way to win by 12.
"We played well on defense," said Evangel head coach Leon Neal. "We didn't have good movement on offense and didn't get good shots. We needed to get the ball inside and didn't do that enough. We also rushed too many shots but it all came out of not getting the movement and screens we needed."
No Evangel player scored in double figures as Reggine Brown and Mackenzie Farmer both led their team with nine points. Brianna Marzette had 15 points for the Wildcats to lead all scorers.
The Crusaders dropped to 8-17 and 7-13 in the Heart of America conference. Culver-Stockton improved to 20-8 and 13-7 in the league.
Evangel plays their final regular season home game on Wednesday when they host MidAmerica Nazarene. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. at the Ashcroft Center.
