Springfield, Mo. – Evangel had numerous chances to take the lead, including a three-point attempt by Nick Yocum with two seconds left, but came up short in a 65-61 loss to Benedictine on Saturday at the Ashcroft Center.
The Ravens built an eight-point lead with 8:23 remaining before the Crusaders rallied. Evangel pulled within one, 56-55, three minutes later and the two teams exchanged three-point plays until the final minute of regulation.
Trailing 63-61, the Crusaders had the ball with 22 seconds remaining. Yocum’s ball fake opened him up for a 23-foot three-point attempt that missed off the rim with one second left. Benedictine’s CJ Vallejo grabbed the rebound, was immediately fouled and hit both free throws to seal the win for the Ravens.
“That’s six games we’ve lost this year that have been decided on the last possession,” said Evangel head coach Steve Jenkins. “That’s discouraging but I thought we played hard and gave ourselves a chance.”
Evangel forward Cody Geiger led all scorers with 17 points as he hit 6 of his 8 shots and went 5 for 6 at the free throw line. The sophomore from Republic added six rebounds and two assists.
Adam Kutney came off the bench to score 11 second half points and finish the game as the Ravens leading scorer with 14. Vallejo added 12 as the Ravens snapped a three game losing streak.
Evangel dropped to 6-18 and 5-11 in the Heart of America conference. Benedictine improved to 11-12 and 7-9.
The Crusaders are in Kansas City, Missouri for their next game with a 7:30 p.m. at Avila on Wednesday night.
