Eagles Advance To Regional Final!

WATERTOWN, Wisconsin—The Faith Eagles men's basketball team is just one win away from a trip to the NCCAA Division II National Championships.

The fourth time was the charm for the Eagles, who defeated the Saints of Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) by the score of 71-64, this after falling to the same CCCB squad three times during the regular season and conference tournament.

The Eagles, who have struggled from three-point distance all season, connected on nine three-pointers in 22 attempts (40.9%), and took advantage of second-chance opportunities with 22 points off of 15 offensive rebounds, consistently outhustling the Saints to the ball.

Faith fell into an 11-3 hole to start the game, but battled back to take a 27-26 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half. CCCB ended the half on a 12-8 run for a three-point halftime lead.

The second half was a back-and-forth battle, with Faith taking a seemingly commanding lead of 67-59 with 5:46 to play. The offense went cold for the Eagles during a five minute scoring drought that allowed CCCB to pull within three with just 47 seconds remaining. Jared Pearson put the team on his back, draining four free throws down the stretch as the Eagles' defense held serve until the final buzzer.

Pearson led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles. Andy Hecker continued his strong play in the postseason with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Jayce Goergen (14 points), James Busenitz (13 points), Noah Boyer (7 points), Kalab Sidlinger (3 points), and Christian Brown (1 point) rounded out the scoring for the Eagles. Goergen, Pearson, and Hecker were a combined 8-of-15 from three.

Faith plays in the regional championship Saturday evening at 5 p.m. against Emmaus Bible College who upset the number-one seed Trinity Lions in Friday night's other regional semifinal. Like CCCB, Faith has also played Emmaus three times this season, winning two during the regular season, but losing just last week in the conference tournament by three points.