Evangel University’s basketball team didn’t wash, fold and put away the uniforms following the Valor’s first-round loss on Feb. 29 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
But the 78-72 defeat to St. Mary of Kansas — the final game in Evangel’s venerable Ashcroft Center — appeared to be the period on the final sentence of the season.
Not so fast.
A few days later, Evangel received an at-large invitation to the NAIA National Tournament. One of the final teams selected, the Valor was a No. 15 seed in the 16-team Naismith Quadrant and sent to Waxahachie, Texas — where they made the most of their opportunity.
“We were all talking after we lost to St. Mary and we were nervous that we had left it up to the committee to make the tournament,” sophomore guard Garrett Davault, of Norwood, said. “I remember we said that if we got a chance … we had to play our best team ball. We’re really taking advantage of the chance they gave us.”
Off to Kansas City to face another Cinderella
Two tournament upset wins later, the Valor (20-10) was on its way to the Round of 16 at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City. Evangel faces a fellow Cinderella, No. 11 seed Lewis-Clark State of Idaho, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 21.
So if you had Evangel as one of two Springfield college basketball teams on your bingo card as still playing in this basketball-crazed time of March — along with the Missouri State Lady Bears — congratulations. The Valor is enjoying the ride and wants to keep it going.
“Getting to the tournament has probably refocused everybody and given us energy,” said coach Bert Capel, who has led Evangel to the national tournament in each of his three seasons. “Our experience has kicked in a little bit. We have a lot of guys from two years ago that have been to the tournament.
“We’re playing good basketball, we’ve been there before and we’re taking advantage of the moment.”
Valor hitting its stride after up-and-down start
The manner in which Evangel prevailed last weekend, beating No. 2 regional seed Florida Memorial 91-76 before disposing of 10th-seeded Baker 90-68, is how Capel envisioned his team playing when the season began.
Instead, it was a bit of an up-and-down season as Evangel moved into a new home in the KCAC. After opening 8-3, the Valor lost five of six to start January to fall off the national radar.
But nine wins in its final 10 regular-season games, including one over NAIA No. 4-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan in front of an overflow crowd including retired Evangel coach Steve Jenkins in the final scheduled game at Ashcroft Center, turned things around.
“We got into the tournament and it was probably a close call,” Capel said. “But at the beginning of the year, we had our first team meeting and I said — and I think it was a collective feeling — ‘Guys, we’ve been to the tournament the last couple of years, we won a game last year, we can get to Kansas City.’
“It was a little bit of an up and down year with challenges, but when it came down to the end of the year guys found a way to stick together and made a little run that probably got us into the tournament.”
Coach pleased with blue-collar play in regional wins
Offensively, the Valor is clicking at the right time. Senior Josh Pritchett scored a team-leading 20 in the win over Florida Memorial, with Davault pouring in a career-high 30 against old Heart of America Athletics Conference rival Baker.
But it’s the defense and overall blue-collar stuff that pleased Capel the most in the regional.
“We’re guarding and we’re playing tough,” Capel said. “We’re not backing down. We’re doing our best to fight for rebounds, we’re being scrappy on defense. And it helps when you make shots.
“Just play tough, get after it, play hard, play together. I feel like we played tougher than the two teams we played. Now, it’s not gonna get easier the further you go. We’re gonna have to continue to do that same thing. If we get away from that, we’re in trouble.”
‘I've had my moment and now it's these players' turn'
A member of Evangel’s 2002 NAIA D-II national champions, Capel said he knows how special a tournament run can be. Even if the Valor falls short of a championship in Kansas City, he wants the players to make more memories.
“There were fun moments. I loved my teammates. I just enjoyed the whole experience,” Capel said of his tourney run two decades ago. “Coming back and coaching at the same school, I enjoyed that and I still talk to those guys to this day. I just want our players to experience the same thing.
“These are memories that they’re going to have for the rest of their lifetimes. That’s the biggest takeaway from this. I’ve had my moment and now it’s these players’ turn to enjoy it and 20 or 30 years from now, they can talk about that run they made in 2024.”
Davault said the feeling, while a bit surreal, is one that he and his teammates hope to soak in.
“It really doesn’t feel that real, but it feels really good,” Davault said. “We’ve proved that seeds don’t matter. We just need to play our own ball and it’s anybody’s ballgame now. We have as good a chance as anybody up there.”
Lady Bears off to Illinois
After their heartbreaking, one-point loss to Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game, the Missouri State Lady Bears return to postseason play for the ninth straight season.
Missouri State (23-9) plays at Illinois (14-15) at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational. The game will be livestreamed on ESPN+.
Lady Bears coach Beth Cunningham said she gave her team two days off to recuperate — mentally and physically — after Drake’s last-second, game-winning shot ended Missouri State’s NCAA Tournament dream.
“Just an exhausting weekend,” Cunningham said of three games in three days, capped by the tough ending. “Our kids played their hearts out. Mentally, physically, you put a ton into it.”
Cunningham doesn’t expect there to be any negative carryover from the weekend, with the opportunity to play a Big Ten Conference opponent.
“Our kids are excited to play, excited to have another opportunity,” she said. “It’s a great reward for a great season. Certainly you want to be in the NCAA, but just to be playing in the postseason, if you look at the teams whether it’s the NCAA or (WBI), there are great teams.”
Missouri State is 1-2 all-time against Illinois, including 0-1 in Champaign. The last meeting came on March 25, 2010, in Springfield, with the Lady Bears prevailing in a Women's National Invitation Tournament game 65-53.
