Men Fall on Late Shot

The Eagle men dropped a heartbreaking two point loss in the opening round of the MCC conference tournament today. Faith entered the tournament as the 5th seed and faced 4th seeded Central Christian College of the Bible. Faith actually made two more baskets than CCCB including two more three point shots, but were outscored by eight at the free frow line, which ended up being the difference in the game.

After Faith's upset win at home on Tuesday night over Grace University, a game in which Faith played with a lot of intensity throughout, the Eagles struggled to find that same intensity and emotion for most of today's game against Central Christian College of the Bible. A poor offensive half for both teams led to a 30-30 tie at the break. Out of the half, Central scored a quick six points to take the lead. Faith responded by re-taking the lead 38-37, and the game was back and forth from there. At the nine minute mark, the game was tied 46-46, but foul trouble began to plague the Eagles as both Tyler Betz and Dillon Gingerich picked up their fourth fouls. Both men had to come out of the game, and CCCB took advantage of their size, as they put together an 11-1 run to take a ten point lead with six minutes left. A defensive switch by the Eagles resulted in a couple empty possessions for CCCB, and Faith scored on both possessions to pull back within six. CCCB held that lead until about one and a half minutes left, when a three in the corner by Betz pulled Faith within three, 65-68. CCCB missed both free throws, and the Eagles had a chance to pull within one or tie the game up, but the shot was off and the Eagles had to foul again. CCCB went one of two from the free throw line to lead by four, and Dillon Gingerich hit a three on the Eagles next possession to pull Faith within one. The Eagles tried for a steal but missed and had to foul. CCCB went one of two from the free throw line again, and on the ensuing possession, Tyler Betz scored to tie the game up with 10 seconds to play. Faith was out of timeouts, and CCCB transitioned and hit a running shot with four seconds to play to take the lead. Faith got a nice look at the basket but came up short, and time ran out before the offensive rebound could be tipped back in as the Eagles fell 70-72.

Tyler Betz scored 22 points despite facing a box and one defense the entire game. Dillon Gingerich added 23 points and nine rebounds, while Josh Whitlow scored 16. Whitlow and Jordan Marshall both handed out six assists each. 

Faith moves to the consolation side of the bracket, and will face the loser of tonights Manhattan and St. Louis Christian game. Tomorrow's game is scheduled to tip at 10:45 AM.