Eagles Show Improvement in Battle with Top 10 Teams

The Eagle men faced a difficult test this past weekend, as they hosted #8 Manhattan Christian College and #4 Grace Bible College (MI) in the Eagles annual Faith Classic basketball tournament. Though the young squad showed drastic improvement over the course of the two day tournament, they ultimately came up short in both games. Faith is now 1-3 on the year.

The Eagles continue to grow together as a team as they implement the new faces that had had a total of two practices going into the weekend. Friday night's contest with Manhattan showed just how far the Eagles have to go to catch up to those teams who have had the benefit of several weeks of practices and games. The Eagles simply could not get anything to fall throughout the entire game, as Manhattan's defense forced Faith into 18 turnovers and 28% from the floor on the night. "Friday we struggled in both statistical and chemistry areas," noted coach Fincham, "We continued to work through those things after the game and into the next day, and credit goes to the upperclassmen who pulled the team together and got them ready to compete against #4 Grace Bible on Saturday."

Despite the rough loss to Manhattan, Faith entered Saturday's game with Grace Bible with a renewed sense of confidence and effort. Facing a Grace team that outsized the Eagles by several inches at nearly every position, Faith's effort on the defensive end and unselfishness on the offensive end kept them in the game from start to finish. After taking a three point lead into the half, Grace Bible extended the lead to 15 five minutes into the second half. Faith kept their poise and began slowly chipping away at the Grace lead. A 14-4 run over the next seven minutes got the Eagles right back in the game but the Eagle run then stalled. With a minute left, Faith trailed by seven. Jon Luke Talton got the Eagles a bucket, then Faith forced a missed shot and a turnover on the offensive rebound. Cody Chaffin nailed a three on the next possession and the Eagles found themselve down by two and needing a defensive stop. A foul by Faith sent Grace to the line where they missed the front end of a one and one, with Faith grabbing the rebound. The Eagles couldn't convert on their possession, though, and Grace was able to seal the game with a made bucket and a free throw to earn the win.

Faith will host Grand View Universit on Tuesday, November 24, at 7:30pm before taking a few days off for Thanksgiving break.