BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – A pair of last-second attempts fell off the mark as the Evangel men’s basketball team dropped a 64-63 heartbreaker at Baker on Wednesday night in Heart of America action.
Richard Chapman missed a runner off the right wing with one second left before Cody Geiger’s tap bounced off the front of the rim as time expired for the Crusaders. Chapman finished with nine points in the loss.
Baker took the lead with eight seconds left on a pair of free throws from Nathan Guscott. The Wildcats had tied the game with 1:57 left in the game however Evangel responded with a three-pointer from Clark Brewington to regain the lead 63-60 with 1:20 remaining.
Four straight free throws from Baker gave the home team its first lead since 13:37 in the second half. The Wildcats rallied in the second half after Evangel led by as many as 10 points in the first half and 30-24 at intermission.
The Crusaders shot 45 percent from the field but managed just seven trips to the foul line going 5-of-7 from the stripe. Despite shooting 36 percent from the field, Baker was 82 percent from the free throw line going 14-of-17 as well.
Nick Yocum led Evangel with 11 points as Cody Geiger also finished in double figures with 10 points.
The Wildcats were led by CJ Bolton who scored a game-high 12 points.
