Men Nearly Pull Upset in Exhibition Contest with Grand View

The Eagle men closed out the home portion of their regular season Monday night with an exhibition contest against NAIA Grand View University. Faith faced off against Grand View during the first semester in Des Moines and lost 63-94. Monday was a different story as the Eagles batttled back from a 17 point halftime deficit to pull within two with nine minutes to play, and trailed by four with just over four minutes to play. Three back to back three's by Grand View pushed the lead back to double digits and the Eagles ran out of time in their quest for an upset. 

During the first half, Faith got down 8-3, but used their own 8-3 run to pull even at 11 apiece. Grand View would exert their advantage down low over the next 12 minutes, building a 17 point lead going into the half. Faith shot poorly in the first half, going 1/15 from behind the arc.

Faith opened the second half with a 14-4 run to pull within seven five minutes into the second half. They then continued to battle, eventually trailing by just two, 58-60, on a Cody Chaffin three point shot with nine left in the game. Grand View stretched the lead back to seven, but Faith would again make a run, pulling within four on two Josh Bray free throws with just over four minutes to play. Grand View would then hit the big shots they needed to in order to stifle the Eagles comeback. The Vikings would use four three point shots and a jump shot over the next two minutes to put together a 14-5 run to push the lead to 13 with two to play. Faith would outscore the Vikings 8-4 over the final two minutes, but couldn't overcome the 13 point margin, falling 77-86. 

Faith received a balanced scoring attack, with Josh Bray leading the Eagles with 17 points. Cody Chaffin added 16 points, and John Acree scored 14 while grabbing 9 rebounds. Ryan Kupferschmid finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. Chaffin, Aaron Leistikow, and Willie Felderman contributed 4 assists each to the Eagle's effort. Despite a large size disadvantage, the Eagles were able to outrebound the Vikings 38-37, including 14 offensive rebounds. 

Faith hits the road this weekend for their final games of the regular season, two crucial MCC Conference games in Missouri. On Friday, the Eagles will play in Joplin, MO against Ozark Christian College. On Saturday, the Eagles will travel to Belton, MO, to take on Calvary Bible College. Wins in both games will complete an undefeated season within conference play for the Eagles, and give them the regular season conference championship. Friday's game tips at 7:30 PM. Saturday's game will begin at 4:00 PM.