Springfield, Mo. - College of the Ozarks lost 85-61 to Evangel on Thursday, Nov. 12, at AGFinancial Arena in Springfield, Missouri, after the hosts converted 11 first-half turnovers into 20 points and built a 20-point halftime lead.

Themba Tshuma scored the opening layup before Clayton Garrison's 3-pointer put Evangel ahead for good at 18:16. Bryce Butler's fast-break layup brought the Bobcats within 8-6, but Harrison Doennig made his third 3-pointer of the half at 12:50 to push the margin to 19-8. Landen Campbell followed a steal with a dunk midway through the half, but Evangel continued pulling away, reaching its largest lead at 41-14 on Connor Hislop's basket with 5:45 remaining.

The Bobcats responded with an 11-0 run. Butler hit a 3-pointer off Tshuma's assist, Garrett Snyder converted an offensive rebound into a tip-in and Campbell finished the stretch with a layup assisted by Andrew Dalton, cutting the deficit to 41-25 with 1:25 left. Evangel scored the half's final four points, capped by Akarius Staten-Ballance's fast-break dunk after Garrison's steal, to take a 45-25 lead into halftime.

Defense helped the Bobcats generate chances after the break. Butler made two free throws following his steal, then Brenley Hagewood turned a steal into a fast-break layup to cut the deficit to 61-42 with 13:08 remaining. Cole Griesemer answered with a 3-pointer before Dalton hit a 3-pointer off Hagewood's assist after Campbell's steal, again trimming the margin to 19 at 12:03. Evangel scored the next six points, with Griesemer's layup making it 70-45, and led by at least 22 the rest of the way.

Snyder led the Bobcats with 17 points, including 13 in the second half, and six rebounds while making 5-of-10 shots and 7-of-8 free throws. Butler added 16 points, five rebounds and three steals, making 7-of-9 at the line. Dalton contributed nine points and five rebounds, Hagewood scored six points and Campbell supplied four points, two assists, two steals and a block. The Bobcats committed only two second-half turnovers and recorded seven steals after halftime.

The Bobcats shot 35.2% from the field, including 2-of-16 from 3-point range, and made 21-of-27 free throws. Evangel shot 49.2%, hit 11-of-25 from beyond the arc and held a 37-31 rebounding edge. Staten-Ballance scored 16 points off the bench as Evangel's reserves outscored the Bobcats' bench 46-9. Doennig finished with 13 points, Garrison added 12 and Jordyn Turner had 10.

Butler turned another steal into a fast-break layup with 2:02 remaining. Brady Reynolds made both free throws with 47 seconds left for the Bobcats' final points, cutting the margin to 83-61. Kent Carroll Jr. made two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to complete the scoring. The Bobcats look to bounce back as they open SAC conference play next Thursday night at The K, taking on the Oklahoma City University Stars!