March 17, 2008
Contact: Evangel University Athletics 865-2815, Ext. 7282
The Evangel Crusaders’ and the Oregon Tech Hustlin’Owls staged dramatic runs in the first half of their second round game in the NAIA II National Championships at Pt. Lookout, Mo. Oregon Tech would eventually pull ahead and end Evangel’s season with a 72-63 victory.
Oregon Tech got the game going with a 15-0 that would have stunned most teams. Evangel, however, came back with an impressive 19-5 run to tie the game at 22 and the Crusaders were down by just one at the half, 27-26.
In the second half, Evangel broke free for a 7-0 run that gave EU its biggest lead of the game, 39-32. The Hustlin’ Owls, however, fought back to take the lead back at the 10:24 mark, 42-41, and built an 8-point lead. During the stretch run, Evangel was forced to foul and Oregon Tech made 6-of-8 charity tosses to hold off the Crusaders.
Tim Dial led Evangel (28-7) with 22 points and eight rebounds. He missed only five of his 16 field goals and also had a pair of steals. Shane Nicholson contributed 18 points and also had three assists and two steals. Jackson Capel was EU’s other double-figure scorer. Capel totaled 10 points and controlled a team-best seven rebounds. Joel Brown added eight points, making 3-of-5 from the field (2-2 3-pointers) and also had five rebounds and dished out three assists. Todd Simon hit the glass hard, grabbing six rebounds.
Oregon Tech (28-6) was led by Ryan Fiegi with 19 points. Josh Wetzler added 13 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Jguwon Hogges and Ryan Beesley each scored 10 points.