FAYETTE, Mo. — In what will most likely be their final game inside Puckett Field House, Isaiah Thurmond (SR/Alton, Ill.) and Terrance Bush (SR/Des Moines, Iowa) did what they do best. Score points and play defense, a recipe that resulted in an 85-78 victory over Evangel on Senior Day.

The Eagles (17-13, 12-12 in Heart) started out slow, trailing by eight points at halftime to an upset-minded Crusader squad. Central Methodist chipped away at the deficit in the second half, finally finding itself ahead by one after an Isiah Sykes (JR/Holt Summit, Mo.) layup with 12:19 to play.

Central Methodist held a slight advantage the rest of the way, finally icing the game with six made free-throws from Bush in the final two minutes of action.

Thurmond led the way with 25 points, while Bush followed suit with 18. Bush also had three steals, playing a major part in creating 18 turnovers.

Fellow seniors Erick Locke (SR/Oak Park, Ill.) and Jordan Ankrom (SR/Farmington, Mo.) started the contest and made an impact. Locke scored eight points, dished seven assists, and grabbed six rebounds. Ankrom netted seven points while grabbing six rebounds.

The final senior to start the game was Heath Agnew (SR/Mountain City, Texas), who missed his only field-goal attempt of the game in nine minutes of action.

Christian Soderholm (JR/Peru, Ill.) narrowly missed out on a double-double, scoring 14 points and nabbing nine rebounds.

From the field, Central Methodist shot 49%, including 39% from three-point range. The Eagles outrebounded the Crusaders, 36-32.

Up next for Central Methodist is a berth in the Heart Conference Tournament. The win today gave the Eagles a first-round bye, as they clinched the No. 6 seed and a return trip to Oskaloosa, Iowa, to take on No. 3 seed William Penn.