Men Complete Weekend Sweep with Wins

The Eagle men finished of their opening weekend by sweeping their final two games, first on Friday night against Oak Hills Christian, and then on Saturday over Calvary Bible College. The wins move the Eagles to 8-4 on the year.

In Friday night's game, the Eagles took on a feisty Oak Hills Christian squad. The visitor was able to hit some tough shots throughout the first half to hang around, but the Eagles pace of play and ability to stay fresh allowed them to take a six point 43-37 lead into the break. Faith then quickly built on that lead in the opening minutes of second half as a 10-0 run blew the game open. Oak Hills was able to make a run to pull the game back within six with 14 minutes left to play in the game, but a 15-1 run by the Eagles put the game away for good as they went on to win by a 96-74 final. 

In a game in which every Eagle scored, Cody Chaffin led the Eagles with 22 points. Ryan Kufperschmid added 17, while Josh Bray netted 16 and two steals. John Acree had 13 while he and Alec Hraba led the team in rebounds with 7 apiece. Aaron Leistikow added five assists and two steals as well.

Saturday's opponent was the Calvary Warriors, and the Eagles started off with a bang and didn't look back. The Eagles got a dunk off the opening tip and jumped out to a quick 15-5 lead in the first five minutes of play. Calvary hung tough, though, battling back to tie the game at 18 with just under 10 to play in the first half. Calvary would briefly take the lead on a free throw at 23-22, but the Eagles would close the half with a 26-10 run to take a 15 point lead into the break. 

Calvary would open the second half with a quick 7-0 run, as a 10-2 run pushed the lead back to double digits, and the Eagles built the lead from there. Faith was able to win by a 93-63 final score. Again the Eagles received great team effort, as all 11 Eagle men played and 9 found their way into the scoring column. Ryan Kufperschmid and Josh Bray led the Eagles with 17 apiece, while John Acree added 16 and missed a double double by one rebound as he grabbed 9 on the night. Cody Chaffin added 14 points for the Eagles as well. John Luke Talton, Kupferschmid, and Bray had four assists each, while the Eagles recorded 19 steals as a team. Aaron Leistikow and Eric Young led the Eagles in that category with four apiece. 

For the weekend, the Eagles recorded three wins while outrebounding their opponents 129-80, including grabbing 37 offensive boards. Faith shot 31/65 from behind the arc (48%), and took 77 freethrows to their opponents 44. 

The Eagles return to action next Friday for an exhibition contest on the road at NAIA Ashford University (Clinton, IA). The Eagles will then travel to Dubuque, IA on Saturday for a 4:00 PM contest with Emmaus Bible College.