Springfield, Mo. – The Central Methodist University men's basketball team traveled down to Springfield, Missouri on Monday evening and defeated Evangel University by a final of 83-73 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match-up.

With the victory, the Eagles improve to 11-6 overall and 8-5 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. With the loss, Evangel University falls to 7-10 overall and 4-9 in The Heart.

Monday's match-up between the Eagles and Crusaders was a tight contest throughout. In the first half, Central was able to knock down three more jumpers than Evangel. CMU finished the first half a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to take a 38-28 lead into halftime.

In the second half, neither team shot well from the field. Evangel shot 5-for-20 from beyond the three-point arc, while Central shot just 1-for-6 from deep. While both teams scored 45 points apiece in the second half, CMU was able to remain in due to their attacking of the basket. Central attempted 27 free-throws in the second half, knocking down 18 of them. In the end, the Eagles held on for the 83-73 victory.

Central used only eight players on Monday evening, with Cole Adair (SR/Fishers, Ind.) leading the charge offensively for the Eagles with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and tied with Scott Stegeman (SR/Jefferson City, Mo.) with a team high nine rebounds. Ron Lee (SR/Oak Park, Calif.) finished with 17 points and Brian Egejuru (JR/Lawrenceville, Ga.) scored 16 points off the bench.

The Eagles close out their three-game roadtrip this Wednesday at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. The Central men will tip-off at 7:30pm, with the women to precede the men at 5:30pm.

For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles.