Men Hang Tough, Fall in Second Half

The new look Eagles opened their first semester of play last night in an exhibition contest at Grand View University. After trailing 40-45 at the half, the Eagles simply ran out of gas in the second half, falling 104-62 to the Vikings. Faith dressed just eight men for the game.

The Eagles were able to hang with the Vikings for the first half. Faith trailed 9-2 early but rallied back to tie the game at 12 apiece. Grand View then built the lead back up to four at 24-20 with nine minutes to play in the first half. The Vikings continued to push their lead, going on a 9-0 to lead by 13, but the Eagles responded with their own run to pull back within five by halftime.

Faith played hard in the second half, but with only eight men to Grand View's 12, just couldn't maintain their energy. The Vikings took advantage with increased defensive pressure and relentless offensive rebounding to take control of the game, leading by 20 with 10 minutes to play en route to their win. "I'm really proud of this group of eight we've had for the past four weeks. We've had to get creative in practice, but they've taken it in stride and worked really hard. They played their hearts out, I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do when we get our full squad in a couple weeks," noted coach Fincham.

Freshmen Cody Chaffin paced the Eagles with 30 points, including going a perfect 14-14 from the free throw line. Timothy O'Tool added 12 points, and Jon Luke Talton scored 10. Aaron Leistikow missed a double double by two points, recording 10 rebounds and eight points. The Eagles will be off for a week, and will return to action next Tuesday for their home opener against Union College. That game will tip at 7 PM in the Nettleton Center.