#8 Kansas Christian Holds Off Eagles
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas—The Faith Eagles men's basketball team fell to 3-3 Tuesday night with a 90-79 loss at Kansas Christian College (6-3). The Falcons are currently the eighth-ranked team in NCCAA Division II. Kansas Christian turned 22 Faith turnovers into 23 points, outscoring the Eagles 23-8 in that category, which was the difference in the game.
The Eagles got another terrific effort from freshman Nathan Keck, who led all scorers with 33 points. It was his third 30-point performance of the season in just six games. Keck is averaging 25.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
Kansas Christian utilized a 9-0 run to start the game—a deficit the Eagles struggled to recover from for much of the first half. Faith pulled within two at the 7:37 mark of the first half and kept the score close until the last two minutes when Kansas Christian built their lead back to seven at halftime.
Faith took its first lead of the game (59-58) with 12:45 remaining on a Jason Conable jumper, but it was short-lived as the Eagles went ice-cold for three minutes while the Falcons went on a 10-0 run. Multiple turnovers during that stretch aided Kansas Christian's run, which Faith was never able to recover from as the Falcons held the Eagles at arm's length the rest of the game.
The Eagles shot 42.9% from the floor, struggling from three-point distance (4-of-21). Faith had three players in double figures, led by Keck's 33. Kalab Sidlinger had 18 points and Tanner Van Beek added 10.
Faith travels to Watertown, Wisconsin, on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. game against Maranatha Baptist University. The Sabercats are 1-4.