Faith Takes Third in Conference Tournament

Over the weekend, Faith was the host site for the 2017 Men's and Women's Midwest Christian College Conference Basketball Tournament. Faith came out of the tournament in third place, matching where they were seeded going in.

In their opening game on Thursday night, the Eagles defeated Calvary University (Kansas City, MO) 78-70. Faith jumped out to a quick lead and extended it to as many as 23 points in the beginning of the second half; but Calvary wouldn't go away easily. In the last ten minutes, Calvary put on a 20-4 run to cut the lead to 71-65. Faith knocked down free throws in the late minutes and secured the eight-point victory. Jon Luke Talton led the Eagles with a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Kupferschmid contributed 19 points, while Chase Clark brought in 11 rebounds.

Faith returned to the court Friday night for the semi-final game against Barclay College (Haviland, KS). The Eagles battled back-and-forth with Barclay for the first ten minutes before Barclay's 16-4 run broke the game open. The Bear's impressive shooting performance, including going 12-21 from behind the arc in the first half, was too much for the Eagles to overcome. Faith fell to Barclay 64-102, which would put them in a battle for third place against Emmaus Bible College (Dubuque, IA).

In the previous two matchups between Faith and Emmaus during the regular season, Faith came out on top both times and hoped to continue that streak. Faith's 16-4 run before the break gave them a 39-24 lead going into the half. The Faith Eagles maintained that advantage throughout the second half and went on to win 78-52 over Emmaus and take third place in the tournament. Faith was led behind Ryan Kupferschmid's 22 points Jason Schep's 21 points. Chase Clark chipped in 16 rebounds off the bench, and Jon Luke Talton posted another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Ryan Kupferschmid was named All-Conference Honorable Mention, and Senior Jon Luke Talton was selected First Team All-Conference.

Faith will travel to Watertown, WI. on Friday, February 24, for the NCCAA North Regional Tournament.