January 9, 2023

Men’s Basketball Defeats Barclay, Loses to #3 MCC at Conference Classic

Faith Baptist Bible College

100

Barclay College

Final

Faith Baptist Bible College

100

Barclay College

Faith Baptist Bible College

Manhattan Christian College

Final

Faith Baptist Bible College

Manhattan Christian College

BELTON, Missouri—The Faith Eagles men's basketball team returned from the long holiday break with a vengeance on Friday evening topping the century mark in a win over Barclay College, 100-88. On Saturday, the Eagles ran into a buzz saw against third-ranked Manhattan Christian College, falling 97-61.

Faith showed no signs of rust on Friday night scoring a season-high in points. The Eagles added some firepower over the break with newcomer Josh Baucum joining the team to begin the spring semester. Baucum scored over 500 points as a senior at nearby Grandview Christian High School, helping his team to the state title game in Class 1A in 2022. The addition of Baucum gives the Eagles tremendous depth at the guard position and further allows the team to play small and spread the court with multiple scoring options the rest of the season.

On Saturday, the Eagles struggled to buy a basket. Five minutes into the game, it looked like Faith could pull the upset after they jumped to a 13-3 advantage. Manhattan rallied to tie the game at 19 midway through the first half, and the rest was all Thunder as they outscored the Eagles 30-6 over the final ten minutes of the first half. The Eagles were unable to make up the deficit in the second half, shooting 35% for the game (5-of-24 from three).

Faith (4-6) returns to action on Tuesday, January 10, with a tough home matchup against Emmaus Bible College (5-5). The two teams will battle for a new traveling trophy which will be known as "The Chaplains Trophy," sponsored by the Iowa National Guard. Game time is 6 p.m.