Last-Second Basket Sinks Eagles

KANSAS CITY, Missouri—Riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak, the Eagles hit the road on Monday for a matchup against Spurgeon College in Kansas City. It was an evenly-matched contest the entire 40 minutes, but a basket by Spurgeon at the buzzer broke a 73-73 tie and ended Faith's win streak.

In a game that saw seven ties and 12 lead changes, Faith dug itself a nine-point hole midway through the first half, but rallied to bring the deficit to four at halftime. Faith had a very balanced scoring attack the first 20 minutes with five guys scoring at least two baskets.

The second half was dominated by the combo of Jason Conable and Jayce Goergen, who combined for 25 second half points on 9 of 12 shooting (3 of 5 from three point distance). Faith trailed by five late in the game, but the Eagles had one final rally in them, outscoring Spurgeon 7-2 to tie the game at 73. With under ten seconds remaining, Spurgeon's Jamie Juncal made a short jumper as time expired and sent the Eagles back on their three-hour bus trip to Ankeny on a sour note.

Jason Conable continued his fine play as his senior season winds down, leading all Faith players with 19 points and 8 rebounds. The Eagles' streak of shooting better than 50% as a team came to an end as the team shot a still-respectable 46.9% from the floor.

With the loss, the Eagles fell to 6-6. Five of their next six games are at home, beginning Thursday night with a 7 p.m. game against Manhattan Christian. Faith's next four games are against ranked opponents in NCCAA Division II. Manhattan Christian (whom they play twice) is ranked #4; Barclay is ranked #2; and Kansas Christian is ranked #5.