January 17, 2008
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7282
Game 17
No. 4 Evangel hosts William Jewell
7:30 p.m. January 17
Ashcroft Center: Springfield, Mo.
Evangel Radio Broadcast and Webcast
ESPN Radio (KGMY, 1400 AM)
www.allinbroadcasting.com
Play-by-play: Ed Beach
The Crusaders are 13-3 overall, 6-0 vs. Heart of America Athletic Conference foes, and ranked No. 4 nationally on the NAIA II poll (Jan. 16). Evangel won its fourth game in a row on Jan. 12, defeating Missouri Valley 84-66 in Marshall. Jackson Capel poured in 30 points, including a school-record nine 3-pointers, to lead EU’s scoring. Todd Simon recorded the ninth double-double (second this season) of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds. T.Simon made 7 of 10 from the field and all three of his free throws and was also credited with four assists, one block and one steal. Shane Nicholson had a career-best 14 assists.
The William Jewell Cardinals (Liberty, Mo.) are 11-7 overall and 7-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. William Jewell’s lone conference loss came in the Cardinal’s most recent game at home vs. Central Methodist on Jan. 12. Central Methodist won 63-59. Prior to the loss to CMU, William Jewell had won five straight. In the Central Methodist game, Andrew Poston registered a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Kyle Fisher added 10 points.
The NAIA honored Jackson Capel as the DII men’s national player of the week for his performance in two EU wins last week.
Capel averaged 30.5 points and 6.0 rebounds to lead Evangel to wins over Lindenwood at home on Jan. 10 (81-64) and at Missouri Valley on Jan. 12 (84-66). And in the process, he set two new Evangel 3-point records.
Versus Lindenwood Capel scored 31 points and had a career-best 11 rebounds. He needed to make five 3-pointers to break the Evangel career record and he did just that. Capel nailed 5 of 12 from beyond the 3-point line to set a new EU record with 231 career treys. The previous mark was 230 by Grant Curtis (2000-04).
In the Missouri Valley game, Capel poured in 30 points. He made 9 of 15 3-pointers to set a new single game record with the nine treys. Capel broke the previous school record of eight 3-pointers that he shared with Kevin Baker. Capel had eight treys vs. Avila on Feb. 5, 2007. Baker tossed in his eight 3s versus College of Pharmacy on Jan. 31, 1994. The nine 3-pointers brings his record-setting total to 240.
Capel, who is from Erlanger, Ky., was also picked earlier this week as the Heart of America Athletic Conference player of the week.
Evangel’s starting post player, Tim Dial, was diagnosed with mononucleosis prior to EU’s home game vs. Avila on Dec. 6 and missed the next five games. He was given permission to return to the lineup for the Graceland game on Jan. 5. He missed five games.
Evangel is led by Steve Jenkins, who begins his 26th season as the head coach in 2007-08. Jenkins (Evangel, 1974) has a 456-350 record in 26 seasons at the Crusader helm. Jenkins won his 450th game on Dec. 1 vs. Culver-Stockton, 72-54.
Larry Holley leads William Jewell in his 29th year. His record at WJC is 656-300 and his overall record in 37 years as a head coach is 743-419. Holley (William Jewell, 1967) ranks No. 3 among all 276 NAIA I and II coaches in terms of wins, is No. 10 among active four-year coaches in all NCAA and NAIA divisions, and ranks No. 1 in all-time career wins among four-year college coaches in Missouri.
William Jewell leads the series with Evangel, 36-21. The last five meetings have been closely divided, with Evangel getting the best of William Jewell in three of the five games. Prior to the recent five games, William Jewell had won eight straight against Evangel. And prior to William Jewell’s streak, Evangel had won six in a row. In Ashcroft Center, Evangel has a slight 15-12 advantage.
| Rank | Team | Conference Record |
Overall Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evangel | 6-0 | 13-3 |
| 2 | William Jewell | 7-1 | 11-7 |
| 3 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 5-2 | 15-2 |
| Benedictine | 5-2 | 10-6 | |
| 5 | Central Methodist | 5-3 | 9-8 |
| 6 | Culver-Stockton | 4-5 | 7-1 |
| 7 | Lindenwood | 3-5 | 9-9 |
| Missouri Valley | 3-5 | 3-14 | |
| 9 | Graceland | 2-6 | 5-12 |
| 10 | Baker | 1-6 | 4-12 |
| 11 | Avila | 1-7 | 4-12 |
EU junior Jackson Capel scored 11 points versus Central Methodist on Nov. 29 to reach the 1,000-point plateau. He has scored 1,221 points during his career and ranks No. 17. Capel is the 26th Crusader to score 1,000 points in a career. The list includes current teammates Tim Dial (No. 12 with 1,401) and Todd Simon (No. 18 with 1,172). Shane Nicholson is also closing in on 1,000 points. He has scored 916 points to date.