Men Fall in Championship Game
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
26 | 36 | 62 |
|
|
41 | 42 | 83 |
Team Stats
Manhattan Christian College
| Game Statistics | Faith Baptist Bible College | Manhattan Christian College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (18-53) | (33-59) |
| Field Goal % | 34.0% | 55.9% |
| Rebounds | 32 | 31 |
| Assists | 15 | 17 |
| Turnovers | 24 | 17 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 14 | 12 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 3 | 6 |
| Bench Pts | 6 | 22 |
In the same gym, 16 years to the day after the Eagles last appearance in the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament, the Faith men took another shot at the title. While the drought in opportunities appeared large, Faith left the MCCC the year after their previous championship run, and has just returned to the conference last year. While last time the Eagles were able to win the title, history would not repeat itself, as the Eagles fell to top seeded and national #9 Manhattan Christian College 62-83 in the championship game. Faith is now 16-9 on the season, and finishes conference play as the regular season and tournament runner up.
Faith hung with Manhattan for much of the first half, trading the lead with the Crusaders several times. Unlike their previous two games, though, the Eagles struggled offensively, as several shots did everything but go in in the first 16 minutes of the game. Unable to take advantage, the Eagles trailed by four, 25-29, with five minutes left in the half. Manhattan then got hot, stringing together a 12-2 run to close out the first half with a 41-26 lead. Manhattan continued that run into the first two minutes of the second half, opening with a 7-0 run to open a 22 point lead. Faith continued to battle hard, but the lead was just to great, as Manhattan answered any run the Eagles could make with their own. Faith would pull no closer than 16 during the remainder of the game.
After shooting 55% against Calvary Bible, and 58% against Ozark, the Eagles could only muster a 28% first half, and 34% overall shooting percentage in the championship game. Faith allowed Manhattan to shoot 55% on the other end of the court. "The guys did what I asked them to do, and I just didn't make the right defensive adjustments when I needed to. This loss is my fault. Credit Manhattan, they are a solid defensive team and made it difficult on us on the offensive end of the court. They also executed well offensively. Coach Condra has done a nice job and had them ready to play. We'll learn from this and work to improve in practice this next week as we prepare for regionals," noted coach Fincham.
Timothy O'Tool led the Eagles with 26 points. Aaron Leistikow added 12 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. Cody Chaffin also finished with 12 points. Jon Luke Talton and Jordan Marshall each had four assists, while Eric Young had the only two steals the Eagles were able to muster on the defensive end. The Eagles actually made more free throws and three point baskets, while out rebounding Manhattan by one, but simply weren't as efficient as the Crusaders on offense.
Faith returns home to prepare to host the 2014 NCCAA North Central Regional Tournament this coming weekend. Faith enters the tournament as the #3 seed, and will face #2 seed Trinity Bible College in the second semi-final game. The game will tip at 8:00 PM in the Nettleton Center.
