FAYETTE, Mo. – A career afternoon from Richard Chapman helped lift the Evangel men’s basketball team to a 96-89 victory over Central Methodist in the season finale Saturday afternoon.
Senior Richard Chapman made sure he was going out a winner scoring a career-high 36 points in the win. Chapman finished 6-of-12 from behind the three-point line and 12-of-24 from the field while also adding 10 rebounds to post his only double-double of the season.
Chapman finishes as 19th on the Evangel all-time scoring list with 1,377 points after passing Korry Tillery (2012-15). He also finished 19th all-time in assists with 263 and eighth in three-pointers made with 166.
Evangel rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second half and led by as many as 12 with 6:55 left in the game. The Crusaders knocked down nine three-pointers in the second half and forced 18 Central Methodist turnovers as they committed just eight.
Both Cody Geiger and Nick Yocum finished with 14 points, as Yocum was 4-of-7 from behind the three-point arc. Yocum finishes his Evangel career third on the all-time three-pointers made list with 225 after passing Ryan Luethy (2002-06) and finishing just five shy of second place.
The Crusaders scored 25 points off turnovers as the Eagles scored just eight.
Central Methodist was led by 30 points from Cole Adair who also finished with a double-double adding 15 boards.
