Men Stymied by Rhema Bible

The Eagle men dropped their opening game of the ACCA Div.1 National Tournament today to #3 seeded Rhema Bible. The Eagles fell by a final of 75-92. Faith is now 16-11 on the year.

Faith hung with Rhema for the first several minutes of the game, as they found themselves tied at 22 apiece with eight minutes to play in the first half. Unfortunately, the Eagles found themselves in a familiar spot over the next eight minutes, as they could not take care of the ball, execute offensively, or get defensive stops. As has been the case for the Eagles in their past three games, that eight minute stretch proved to be the difference in the game, with Rhema taking advantage of six Faith turnovers, while holding Faith to just eight points over the final minutes of the first half for a 26-8 run and a commanding 18 point lead.

Faith went 2 for 10 from the floor during that stretch, while allowing Rhema to go 11 for 17. Rhema scored 27 points in the game off of the Eagles turnovers. Faith would execute better in the second half, actually outscoring Rhema by one in the half, but could not string together any defensive stops, pulling no closer than 13 in the second half before falling by the final 17 point margin.

John Acree came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 19 points. Timothy O'Tool added 17, while Aaron Leistikow grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out six assists.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Eagles on Friday, as they will face the #2 seed Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College at 12:30 PM in the consolation semi-final. Hillsdale was upset in overtime Thursday night by tournament host Ozark Christian College.