Springfield, Mo. – The Evangel University Valor outscored the Friends University Falcons by 20 points in the second half to pull out an 88-75 win in a KCAC matchup tonight (Jan. 24) in Springfield, Mo.

The Falcons managed to start out strong, getting five points each from Drew Patterson and Al Emerllahu for an early 10-3 lead.

Friends led for the majority of the first half, only trailing for 1:01 and taking a 42-35 lead at the break following threes from Patterson and Steele Chapman.

The Falcons hung tough through the early stages of the second half and took their biggest lead of the game on a four-point play by Patterson at the 18:01 mark.

With the Falcons clinging to a three-point lead, threes by Josh Mason started and ended a 25-11 burst that spanned six minutes and staked Evangel to an 11-point lead of 73-62.

A layup by KJ Spiller temporarily halted the spurt and cut the deficit back to single-digits, but the Valor then used an 11-2 spurt to take an insurmountable 20-point lead with 2:58 remaining.

Patterson led the Falcons (7-11, 4-9 KCAC) with 18 points and Chapman finished with 11 points along with a career-high seven assists.

Josh Pritchett had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead five Valor in double-figures. Mason and Broc Smith each chipped in with 17 points for Evangel (9-9, 7-6 KCAC).

The final numbers were close, with the Falcons outrebounding the Valor 32-28, while Evangel outshot Friends 55.4 percent-49.1 percent. But the Falcons were hurt by 17 turnovers on the night.

Next up the Falcons will host (RV) Kansas Wesleyan University Saturday night (Jan. 27) at 7 pm inside the Garvey Center. Also, a special ceremony will be held Saturday honoring Football NAIA All-American and CSC Academic All-American Keegan Martin.