Men Ride Hot Shooting into Championship

The Eagle men advanced to the MCCC tournament championship today with a 107-92 win over Ozark Christian College. Faith will face nationally ranked (#9) and top seeded Manhattan Christian College at 5 PM on Saturday. Manhattan went undefeated in conference play during the regular season. Faith faced Manhattan once in November, falling by six. Faith improves to 16-8 on the year with the semi-final victory.

Faith jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first four minutes, but Ozark responded with a 9-2 run to pull even at 13 apiece. The Eagles stretched the lead back up to nine, 33-24, with seven minutes left in the half, and Faith was able to maintain the lead, taking a six point advantage into the break as Eric Young scored at the buzzer. Faith opened the second half with an 8-2 run to lead by 12 with 18 to play in the game. Faith would then build the lead, eventually leading by as much as 21. Ozark continued to fight, but timely baskets by the Eagles would hold them at bay, as the Eagles led by 15 at the final horn.

The Eagles had a balanced attack, as all five starters finished in double digits. Cody Chaffin led the Eagles with 30 points. Timothy O'Tool scored 26 and grabbed nine rebounds. Aaron Leistikow added 18 points, while grabbing nine rebounds and four steals. Jon Luke Talton added 15 points in just 14 minutes of action, while Jordan Marshall scored 13 points and handed out nine assists. Eric Young had a terrific game off the bench, handing out 11 assists in the game.

Chaffin and Leistikow were both selected as All Conference recipients. Leistikow was a second team selection, while Chaffin was a first team selection.