Betz Ends Career in Style, Leads Eagles to Final Victory

From the opening tip of the Eagles final game at the 31st annual ACCA National Tournament, it was apparent that senior Tyler Betz had no intention of anything other than a convincing win to end a record setting career. Betz opened with three deep three point baskets en route to a 41 point 17 rebound effort as the Eagles avenged an earlier season loss, defeating Calvary Bible College 95-63. Faith entered the tournament as the #11 seed, but after an opening round loss to Barcaly College, the Eagles finished with two solid wins to claim the 9th spot in the nation and an overall final record of 13-18. After a rough first semester in which the Eagles went 2-10, Faith went 11-8 during the second semester, a drastic turnaround in one month's time.

Much like the Eagles game with AFLBS the day before, Calvary came out hot, shooting 4/4 from behind the arc in the first four minutes of play. Faith stuck with their game plan, though, while Betz kept the Eagles in it with his hot shooting, complemented by some nice driving shots by Josh Whitlow and Eric Young. However, the Eagles still found themselves down 14-10 four minutes into the game. After a Calvary free throw, Betz hit his third three to pull Faith within two, and the game remained tight to the 10 minute mark. Calvary still held a five point lead, 25-20, but Faith began to get things going offensively and defensively. A complete team effort on both ends sprinkled with Betz's three point shooting led to an offensive outburst that the Eagles hadn't seen all year. The result was a 33-10 run by the Eagles over the final 10 minutes of the half, leading to a 53-35 Eagle lead at the break. Betz opened the second half with another three, then hit two more three minutes later for a total of eight threes in the game and the Eagles rolled to a 95-63 victory in their final game of the season.

The Eagles shot a blistering 63% in the game. Betz finished with 41 points including 8/12 from behind the arc, most of which were deep. Dillon Gingerich added 15 points, Cooper Rodman netted 11, while Josh Whitlow scored 10. Jordan Marshall handed out seven assists in just 18 minutes of play, while Whitlow passed out six assists and grabbed three steals. Eric Young also had three steals for the Eagles. 

The Athletic Department will be honoring both the men's and women's basketball teams at the annual Athletic Awards Fellowship, scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, at 6 PM. Everyone is invited to the event, which will be held in rooms 103-105 of the Nettleton Center.