Men Open Semester With Win
The Eagle men opened their second semester of play last night with a hard fought 93-90 conference win over visiting St. Louis Christian College. The Eagles improved to 6-6 on the year and 2-1 in the Midwest Christian College Conference.
St. Louis opened the game with a three and then maintained a lead or tie for the first seven minutes of the game. A bucket by the Eagles Aaron Leistikow at the 13 minute mark gave the Eagles their first lead of the game at 18-16. St. Louis responded with a three to retake the lead though, with Faith finally retaking the lead again three minutes later, 24-22. Faith then increased the lead with a 9-2 run, eventually seeing the lead balloon to 15 with a minute and a half to play in the first stanza. Faith would head to the locker room up 12.
Two turnovers and a missed jumper by the Eagles to open the second half led to six quick points by the Soldiers, as the Eagles lead was quickly cut in half. St. Louis built on that quick start, putting together a 17-7 run to pull within two. Faith pushed the lead back up to nine with twelve to play, but a 14-4 run by the Soldiers erased the lead, giving the visitors a one point lead with seven and a half to play. Faith quickly retook the lead and held on, allowing the Soldiers to pull within one one more time before sinking two free throws late in the game for the three point lead. Two desperation threes by St. Louis were off the mark and the Eagles pulled out the win.
Five men finished in double digits for the Eagles. Cody Chaffin finished with 22, while Timothy O'Tool added 17. Eric Young gave the Eagles a spark off the bench, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 15 points. Jon Luke Talton added 13, while Aaron Leistikow recorded a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Leistikow and Jordan Marshall along with Young each had six assists. Leistikow also led the team in steals with three.
The Eagles return to action Saturday when they will host conference opponent Central Christian College of the Bible in a 4 PM game.