Strong Guard Play Carries Eagles to Win Over Emmaus

DUBUQUE, Iowa—The Faith Eagles connected on 11 three-point baskets and got a combined 38 points from point guard Chris Barnette and shooting guard Jayce Goergen in a 74-66 road win at Emmaus Tuesday evening. The win pushed the Eagles' record to 8-9 overall, 5-3 in conference play.

Faith had one of its better offensive halves of the season in the first half, erupting for 42 points as Jayce Goergen had the hot hand early on. Emmaus made things difficult toward the end of the half, jumping out to a six point lead—their largest of the game—with under four minutes to play. The Eagles finished the half strong, outscoring Emmaus 16-3 to take a six point lead into the locker room. Four three-pointers by four different Eagles (Seth Freeman, Logan Fincham, Carson Odle, and Chris Barnette) were key to the late flurry. That stretch was likely the difference in the ballgame for Faith.

The second half was mostly in favor of Faith, thanks to some great interior defense and rebounding, keeping second-chance points to a minimum, especially to Emmaus's Tyrus Buckner. Three Eagles finished in double figures, with Barnette (22), Goergen (16) and Josh Baucum (10) leading the way. Barnette also finished with team-highs in rebounds (10) and assists (6).

The Eagles return for a critical homestand with four straight home games as the team looks to get above .500 and build some momentum for the postseason. The first of those four games is this Friday night against Central Christian College of the Bible at 7:30 p.m.