Men Move Into Second in Conference With Win Over Ozark

The Eagle men improved to 5-2 in the conference and 13-7 overall with a win over visiting Ozark Christian College last night. The win moves the Eagles into second place in the conference with one game remaining. A win on Saturday over visiting Calvary Bible College will seal the #2 seed for the Eagles in next week's conference tournament.

Faith jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but then struggled to handle the ball over the next five minutes. Seven turnovers by the Eagles during that span led to a 16-2 run by Ozark, giving the visitors a 10 point advantage. Ozark maintained that lead for the next few minutes, leading by 11, 27-16, with nine minutes left in the half. Faith finally woke up, putting together a 12-0 run in just two minutes to take a 28-27 lead. The game remained back and forth for the final seven minutes, with Aaron Leistikow knocking down a three with just a few seconds remaining in the half to give Faith a 48-45 halftime lead. Faith opened the second half witha a 6-1 run to get some breathing room between the two teams, eventually pushing the lead to 11 with 15 minutes left in the game. Ozark battled back, though, retaking the lead, 64-63, with 12 minutes left in the game. Faith was not to be overcome, as they responded with a 16-2 run to take a 13 point lead with eight minutes to go. Ozark stayed in the game with their three point shooting, pulling within six with under a minute to play, but the Eagles were able to handle the press and make their free throws, winning by a final of 100-93. "Tonight was just a great game from both teams. Ozark played hard and kept coming at us. I'm proud of how the men handled some adversity and kept fighting," noted coach Fincham.

Cody Chaffin led the Eagles with 36 points. Timothy O'Tool had a great second half, scoring 19 during the period and 25 total. Aaron Leistikow continued his streak of double doubles, nearly pulling off his second triple double of the season. Leistikow scored 13 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had nine assists. Eric Young had a terrific game off the bench, leading the team in steals with four.

The Eagles will play their final regular season home game of the year on Saturday, when they will tip off at 4 PM against Calvary Bible College.