Jan. 29, 2008

* NAIA Scoreboard
* Basketball Weekly

Written by Kary Booher, Springfield News-Leader

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- As expected, with all eyes on their most important game yet this year, out came the stars: Evangel's (Mo.) Jackson Capel swishing bucket after bucket, MidAmerica Nazarene's (Kan.) NAIA Division II All-Americans, Adam Hepker and Danny Hawkins, rattling the rims, too.

Oh by the way, the Evangel Crusaders also have this other guy, Shane Nicholson. Maybe you've heard of him. Junior point guard. In need of a shave and cool with being in the shadows of everybody else. Now he's added the title of assassin.

"Before games, we don't know who's going to step up," the former Ash Grove standout said. "We just trust each other so much that, if it's my turn, or if it's somebody else's turn, then so be it."

But the opening salvo of a heated rivalry became a deafening roar at the Ashcroft Center on Monday night (Jan. 28), when Nicholson became the central character in the blitz of a heart-racing second half as the third-ranked Crusaders whipped fourth-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene's Pioneers 79-65.

The 14-point differential certainly was a shocker because the showdown, the first of two scheduled meetings this season, had the feel more of NAIA D-II national tournament than mid-January clash in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

The Pioneers entered as the defending national champs and, despite missing two injured 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-8 players, still came armed with Hepker and Hawkins, a duo that muzzled Evangel in the conference tournament championship last March, their last meeting.

This time, Nicholson and Evangel's smothering defense served notice things could be different, and now Evangel (17-4, 10-1) owns a two-game conference lead on the Pioneers (18-3, 8-3).

No surprise, then, that it became entertaining as the HAAC's top three scoring leaders in Capel, Hepker and Hawkins combined for 59 points. Capel, too, was back to shooting from everywhere but the front row of the bleachers, with a 25-foot fadeaway swishing home and reminding everybody of his unthinkable range.

But from Nicholson, who averages 9.2 points a game, came an impressive 19 points, 15 in the second half, and eight assists.

After the second half opened on Hawkins' bucket, a jumper that narrowed Evangel's lead to two points, a crowd of 1,020 mostly calm fans turned the place into a madhouse as the Crusaders delivered their big blow in a lighting-quick, four-minute stretch.

Nicholson scored eight points, made two steals and had an assist in the stampede, and it played out as Evangel threw a wave of double teams at the Pioneers, forcing turnovers on five consecutive possessions.

"If you're scoring like that when the defense is out pressing real hard," Nicholson said, "you've got to keep attacking."

The lead never slipped under 10 the rest of the way.

"That's as good as Shane's played in three years," Evangel coach Steve Jenkins said. "He did a number by himself."

"I should have called a timeout somewhere five minutes into the second half," MidAmerica Nazarene coach Rocky Lamar said. "If you do that (commit turnovers) against Evangel, then you are going to be in a hole in a hurry."

Lamar then promised, "We'll play better," in the Feb. 7 meeting between the teams in Olathe, Kan, and it'll be interesting to see how the Pioneers adjust offensively.

Hepker and Hawkins, for all of their points, were a combined 15-of-37 shooting from the field. No other Pioneer reached double figures.

"We didn't want to be tied (in the conference) and then have to go into their place," Capel said. "We definitely needed this, and everybody knew it."