Springfield, Mo.—USM dropped an 72-80 road decision to Evangel on Wednesday evening at AGFinancial Arena in Springfield.

Saint Mary traded blows early and briefly led 8-7 on a Kaeden Bonner layup with 13:32 left in the first half. A Cam Edwards layup later knotted the score at 12-12, but Evangel responded with a push in transition. A fast-break finish helped the Valor go in front 25-20, and another 3-pointer in the final 90 seconds of the half sent the Spires into the locker room down seven.

Evangel threatened to pull away coming out of halftime, quickly stretching its advantage to 51-35 on a transition 3-pointer early with 15:02 to play. The Spires answered behind Edwards and Bonner, who keyed a comeback effort from the perimeter. Bonner buried a 3-pointer to trim the margin to 62-50 at the 8:31 mark, and Edwards knocked down a 3 from the wing to pull Saint Mary within 68-60 with just over five minutes remaining.

The Spires trailed 35-28 at halftime and felt like they spent much of the second half trying to erase a deficit before Evangel closed the game at the stripe. Evangel went 15 of 19 at the line after the break and finished 18 of 22 overall, using those free throws to fend off multiple Spire runs in the final minutes.

Each time Saint Mary closed the gap, Evangel had an answer. Leading 76-68 in the closing minutes, the Valor's Davault delivered a fast-break dunk to restore an eight-point cushion, then sealed the result by converting free throws in the final 33 seconds.

Edwards powered the Spires' offense with 27 points, six rebounds and two assists, shooting 9 of 15 from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. Bonner added 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, including several key buckets during Saint Mary's second-half push. Jordan Brown added 10 points of his own with Terrius Walker contributing in nearly every category, totaling 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. As a team, the Spires shot 42.2% from the floor (27 of 64) and 29.2% from 3-point range (7 of 24), while limiting turnovers to just eight and coming up with nine steals.
Evangel held a slight edge on the glass, 37-32, and shot 50.9% from the field (27 of 53), including 8 of 17 from long distance. The free-throw disparity — 18 of 22 for Evangel compared to 11 of 18 for Saint Mary — ultimately provided the separation in an otherwise competitive contest, as the Spires' late rally came up just short on the road.

Up next, USM will come back to Leavenworth to host the McPherson College Bulldogs in just a few short days on Saturday, February 7^th with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. The Spires currently sit 7^th overall in the KCAC.