Top Ten Ranked Eagles Continue to Soar

The Eagles resumed play Tuesday night at Emmaus Bible College (Dubuque, IA) after a week off for Thanksgiving break. Faith entered the game nationally ranked as the #9 team in the most recent NCCAA II Top Ten Poll. Even in the beginning, it was obvious the game was going to be a physical battle. After the lead went back and forth between both teams throughout the first half, Faith was able to create a lead and hold on to get the 88-79 win.

From the start, Emmaus and Faith exchanged buckets on the offensive end, but neither team was able to get defensive stops and pull away with a lead. With 8:13 left in the first half and the score tied 21-21, Jon Luke Talton knocked down back-to-back three-point shots giving the Eagles the boost of energy they needed. Although Emmaus was still within striking distance, Faith took a 43-35 lead into halftime.

Emmaus came out of the half ready to play. The speed of the game picked up for both teams, and by the 14:50 mark, Emmaus had taken over the lead 52-51. But Emmaus wouldn't hold on to the lead for long. In the next four minutes, Faith went on a 13-0 run led by Ryan Kupferschmid's 3 three-point shots. Even though Emmaus was able to reduce the lead to 7 with four minutes to go in the game, the deficit that Faith's big run created was too much for them to come back from. The Eagles improved their record to 4-0 with their 88-79 victory and also started their conference record off at 1-0. 

Senior Jon Luke Talton continued his impressive season leading the Eagles with 30 points. Ryan Kupferschmid added 18 points and 5 assists. Talton and Kupferschmid combined to shoot 9-16 from behind the arc. Jason Scheps was one rebound away from a double-double with his 10 points and 9 rebounds. Chase Clark had a big game off the bench recording 9 points and 9 rebounds.

The Eagles will return to Dubuque, IA this weekend to face off with Kansas Christian College on Friday, December 2 and with Providence University College on Saturday.