December 14, 2023

Eagles Christmas Classic Games

Faith won their first conference game of the season over Calvary University as part of the annual Christmas Classic Tournament last week.

Maranatha Baptist University

3-6, 1-0

Faith Baptist Bible College

3-4, 1-0

Final

Maranatha Baptist University 3-6, 1-0

Faith Baptist Bible College 3-4, 1-0

Calvary University

Faith Baptist Bible College

Final

Calvary University

Faith Baptist Bible College

Ankeny, IA - Faith hosted their annual Christmas Classic last week and won the game that mattered most - their conference opener against Calvary University.

The Eagles had a slow start as the Warriors jumped out to a 7-3 lead with a jumper from Warriors guard Matthew Hammonds. The Eagles clawed their way back to tie the game 15-15 with the help of a free throw from Parker Lundberg with 10 minutes remaining in the 1st half. The Eagles continued their strong play as they went on a 17-8 run to end the 1st half with a 32-23 lead.

In the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half, Faith maintained their lead, eventually extending it to 15 before a 7-minute scoring drought plagued the Eagles and the Warriors slowly chipped away at the Eagles' lead. With 1:22 remaining, the Warriors tied the game 52-52 with a jumper from Jonah Murr. A free throw from Desmond Conway, a defensive stop, and a transition layup from Andy Hecker gave the Eagles the lead they needed to put the game away. The Eagles narrowly escaped a late push from the Warriors, winning the game 58-54.

Demond Conway led the way with 15 points in the low-scoring affair. On Saturday, the Eagles played their 2nd game on the final day of the Faith Classic against the Sabercats from Maranatha Baptist University. Maranatha managed to build a six-point lead at the half and the Eagles failed to overcome it in the second half as they dropped the game.

Free throws and rebounding turned out to be the difference in the game as the Sabercats outshot the Eagles 73% to 44% at the free throw line and out-rebound the Eagles 55-30. Faith made four more field goals than the Sabercats and shot a higher overall percentage, but couldn't overcome the huge disparity from the FT line, as MBU made more free throws (32) than the Eagles shot (25), outscoring Faith by 20 from the line.

This loss sends the Eagles to 3-4 on the season. Jared Pearson led the way in scoring with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Desmond Conway chipped in with 17 points and 5 rebounds. The Eagles are back in action Saturday at 2 pm CST at home against the #2 ranked Knights from Spurgeon College.