Men Grind Out Conference Win

It wasn't pretty, but the Eagle men did what they needed to to grab their first MCCC road win of the season. Faith defeated host Calvary Bible College 65-58 to improve to 9-13 overall and 4-6 in conference play. The win gives Faith the #5 seed in the conference tournament, which will be held in Joplin, MO beginning Thursday, February 14. Faith will face #4 Central Christian College of the Bible, a team they split with during the year. CCCB most recently defeated Faith 79-65.

On Saturday, Calvary opened the game with a 5-0 run, which Faith quickly answered with their own 5-0 run. Calvary then hit a three to take the lead back at 8-5, but Faith responded with another 5-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 10-8. Not to be outdone, Calvary then put up nine to the Eagles one to take the lead back at 17-11. Faith would lock down defensively for the rest of the half in what would prove to be an ugly offensive performance by both sides. Faith held Calvary to just six points for the rest of the half, while scoring 16 of their own to take a 27-23 lead into the break. Faith held that lead for the entire second half, but simply couldn't pull away from Calvary. With six minutes to play, a three by the Eagles gave them their largest lead of the game at eight points, and Faith looked poised to finish the game off with a comfortable win. However, Faith's offensive woes returned, as the Eagles went 1/6 over the next four minutes, while Calvary scored six points from the free throw line and connected on another two baskets to pull all the way back within one, 54-55. Faith took care of the ball, committing no turnovers during those four minutes, but just couldn't get a foul call or hit a basket. Faith finally broke the lid on the basket, scoring eight unanswered to put the game away and give the Eagles the win.

Tyler Betz and Dillon Gingerich led the Eagles offensively on the night. Betz scored 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, snagged four steals, and swatted two blocks. Gingerich added 26 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Jordan Marshall had another nice game from the point position, handing out six assists and grabbing four of his own steals. 

Faith closes out regular season play on Tuesday when they will host Grace University at 7:30 PM. Faith lost to Grace 51-83 in Omaha during the first semester. Faith will then head to Joplin, MO for the MCCC tournament hosted by Ozark Christian College. Faith will open the tournament on Thursday against 4th seeded Central Christian College of the Bible at 12:45 PM. If Faith wins that game, they will face the winner of #1 Manhattan vs. #8 St. Louis Christian College on Friday at 4 PM. If they lose they will face the loser of that game at 12:30 PM on Friday.