Evangel falls to No. 1 Grace in NAIA quarters

Evangel was a pest for No. 1 overall seed Grace for much of Saturday's quarterfinal round of the NAIA national tournament.

The Valor exchanged 12 first-half leads with the Indiana school and was on its heels several minutes after halftime, but the Lancers wore down the the tournament Cinderella down the stretch.

Grace dispatched 15th-seeded Evangel 83-76 in front maroon-clad crowd in Kansas City, ending its deepest tournament run since 2002.

Elijah Malone, a 6-foot-10 AllAmerican center, scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to go with nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks, helping Grace (34-1) reach Monday's NAIA Fab Four against No. 1 seed Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.).

Evangel, which was outrebounded by the much larger Lancers 44-28, ended its season with a 21-11 mark. The Valor placed fourth in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference before earning a tournament at-large bid, upsetting No. 2 Florida Memorial, No. 10 seed Baker (Kansas) and No. 11 seed Lewis-Clark State to reach the NAIA Elite Eight.

Waynesville product Carson Cavalier scored a game-high 18 points (6 for 8 from 3-point range) to lead Evangel and and former Norwood star Garrett Davault added 16, including a pair of free-throws that cut Grace's lead to 68-62 at 5:35 mark of the second half.

The Lancers, who had five players score in double figures, answered with an 11-4 run to put away an Evangel squad that trailed 37-34 at halftime.

Davault (six rebounds, three steals) spearheaded a gritty defense effort that slowed down high-scoring Grace much of the evening, forcing the Lancers into 14 turnovers and a chilly 4 for 21 from beyond the arc.

All-KCAC guard and Rolla product Josh Pritchett added 10 points, five assists and two steals for Evangel.