Evangel Christian defeats crosstown foe Trinity to complete Sweet 16 semifinals field

From the get-go, the Trinity Shamrocks were down against Evangel Christian. The Eagles proved they were a force to be reckoned with in a convincing win over Butler County on Wednesday, and that proved true again on Friday night.

Unlike the previous Sweet 16 battle between Harlan County and Campbell County, this one was more of a defensive battle. Both teams struggled to get going, as Evangel Christian made just 38% of their shots along with Trinity’s 36%. It was simply 32 minutes of hard-nosed, in-your-grill basketball that made for an outstanding rivalry game.

In a 57-46 win over Trinity (Louisville), Evangel Christian punched their ticket to the semifinals, completing the four-team field of the state championship tournament at Rupp Arena.

Congrats to Evangel Christian (@EvangelCMBB) on making the Semifinals in its first-ever Sweet 16 Appearance!

The Eagles will take on Harlan County tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in what should be a fun one. pic.twitter.com/iDzadhmecR

— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) March 23, 2024

Kyran Tilley was that driving force for Evangel Christian, scoring 20 points on 8-20 shooting. He also had four steals to cap off a solid all-around effort. Along with him, senior guard Christian Doerr also made his impression felt, scoring 19 points. The senior guard also made his chances count at the free throw line, cashing in on six of his eight attempts from the charity stripe.

It wasn’t easy getting to this point

After the game, Eagles head coach Larry Miller talked about the game and how much it means to make it to this point in the state tournament considering that it has been a hard road to get here.

“That’s huge,” Miller said in the postgame press conference. “These guys have played with confidence… I mean, when you’ve got young people, there’s always going to be bumps in the road.”

He added, “I’ve never won a game. I’ve never made a free throw, I never made a jumpshot since high school. So, it’s they’re winning games. They’re carrying me.”

The Eagles handled business, and now they’ll have a shot at making history, which they’ve already done this season. Evangel Christian is competing in its first-ever Sweet 16, and it just made its first-ever Final Four. Now, they’ll have a shot at making their first-ever championship game too. No pressure, though.

Evangel Christian will take on Trent Noah and the Harlan County Black Bears on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST. The winner of that one takes on the winner of Great Crossing and Lyon County. That’ll set up the state championship game at 7:30 the same night.