SPRINGFIELD (Interstat) — Evangel defeated Columbia (Mo.) 68-62 in a men’s NAIA basketball game Tuesday at Ashcroft Center, as the Valor held off the Cougars and improved to 1-0. Columbia fell to 0-1. Evangel finished with a 43-26 rebounding advantage and made 20 of 29 free throws, while Columbia made 12 of 20. The Valor also held a 12-5 edge on the offensive glass.

Columbia shot 21 of 56 from the floor and 8 of 27 from 3-point range. Evangel shot 22 of 52 overall and 4 of 21 from beyond the arc. The Cougars had 14 assists, three blocks and 19 turnovers. The Valor had 10 assists, six blocks and 22 turnovers. Columbia was called for 24 fouls, and Evangel was called for 18. Columbia scored 62 points on 80 possessions with an offensive rating of 78.0. Evangel scored 68 points on 76 possessions with an offensive rating of 89.7.

The play-by-play showed a busy first half. Jeff Fleming opened with a layup for Columbia, and Akarius Staten-Ballance answered with a 3-pointer for Evangel. Harrison Doennig made a dunk and later added jump shots and layups. Clayton Garrison scored on dunks, layups and jump shots for the Valor. Drew Camacho made a series of 3-pointers and jump shots for Columbia. AJ Tillman made a 3-pointer and free throws for the Cougars, and Cole Griesemer made layups, a jumper, a 3-pointer and a free throw for Evangel. Marcelous Phillips made a layup for Columbia. Jordyn Turner and Tommy Pinegar each made a free throw for Evangel. Danny Garza made a jump shot, a free throw and a layup for the Cougars. Bear Bock, Zac Goss and Jace Eskew each made a jump shot for Columbia. Luke Foster made a jumper, layup and free throw, Cade Sutton made a 3-pointer and free throws, and Kole Deck made a 3-pointer, a jumper and free throws.

The late second-quarter sequence was among the key stretches in the play-by-play. In the first quarter, Doennig made a dunk at 16:06, Garrison dunked at 15:10, and Camacho made 3-pointers at 15:01, 10:15 and 7:15 for Columbia. Staten-Ballance made 3-pointers at 16:27 and 2:01, and Griesemer made layups at 9:59 and 0:01. Doennig made a jump shot and a free throw with 1:24 remaining, and he added another jump shot with 48 seconds left. Tillman made a free throw for Columbia with 28 seconds remaining. Garrison then made a jump shot with 25 seconds left and a free throw with 18 seconds left to close the first-half scoring. Earlier in the second quarter, Garrison made free throws and a jump shot, Camacho hit 3-pointers, and Griesemer made a free throw and a 3-pointer. Tillman made a jump shot and free throws, Deck made a jump shot and free throws, and Camacho added another 3-pointer later in the quarter.

Key performers listed for Evangel included Garrison, Doennig, Griesemer, Staten-Ballance, Foster and Sutton. Columbia’s key performers included Camacho, Tillman, Fleming and Deck. Garrison and Doennig produced inside scoring and free throws for the Valor, while Camacho’s perimeter shooting and Tillman’s free throws helped the Cougars. Staten-Ballance made 3-pointers, a jumper, a layup and a free throw. Griesemer made layups, a jumper, a 3-pointer and a free throw. Foster made a jumper, layup and free throw. Sutton made a 3-pointer and free throws. Fleming made layups and a free throw. Deck made a 3-pointer, a jumper and free throws.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Columbia (Mo.) 73, Evangel 68. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Columbia (Mo.) with a 53.2 percent probability to win.