Eagles Unable to Overcome Early Deficit

By Loretta Gamboe, Staff Writer

MOBERLY, Missouri—In their first conference game of the season, the Faith Eagles had their moments of keeping up with the Saints of Central Christian College, but unfortunately, couldn't keep them from pulling away for an 85-65 victory. 

Faith entered the game with a 3-4 record, coming off a recent 87-83 victory over Emmaus.  The Central Christian Saints came in with a 4-5 record, having lost their most recent games against Randall University and Lincoln Christian University.   The Eagles found themselves at an early disadvantage as the Saints went on a 14-3 run in the first four minutes of the game. Faith cut the deficit to four points with twelve and a half minutes left in the first half, only to see the Saints extend their lead to their biggest advantage of the half at 22-36 with just over five minutes left in the first half.  The Eagles, once again, slashed the lead in half, 34-41, by halftime. 

Faith's defense struggled to guard the perimeter in the second half, giving up eight three-point baskets to Central Christian, including five by Saints guard Trey Black. Central Christian used their hot shooting from outside to build a 23-point lead with 3:14 to play. The Saints shot a blistering 8-18 from three-point distance and 51.4% overall from the field in the second half.

The Eagles shot 39.1% from the field (27 of 69) and 16.7% from the 3-point line (3 of 18) for the game, while the Saints shot 49.3% from the field (37 of 75) and 29.4% from the 3-point line (10 of 34) for the game.  The Eagles outrebounded the Saints 41-37. 

Faith had three players score in double digits, led by Tanner Van Beek with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Chase Clark finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds, and Sam Pederson contributed 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. 

The Eagles have one more exhibition game before the end of the semester. They will play at Central College on Thursday, December 13, before returning to conference play on Friday, January 11, against Barclay College at 7:30 p.m. at the Nettleton Center.