Balance the Key in Eagles Successful Season
The Eagle men finished up a successsful season in March, concluding the year with an overall record of 17-12. The season included a runner up regular season and conference tournament finish for the Eagles in their second year back in the Midwest Christian College Conference.
This year's squad was a young one, with no four year seniors, and seven of the 12 men new from the previous year. Five freshmen joined two seniors who had taken a year off, combining with five returnees from the 2012-2013 campaign.
The first semester, as always, was challenging, as the young team struggled in close games, showing their potential, but still learning how to win. In November, the Eagles won their home opener against Union College, then dropped a close game at eventual MCCC regular season and tournament champion Manhattan Christian College. The close losses continued, as the Eagles dropped consecutive two point losses to Maranatha Baptist University and Iowa Wesleyan at the Eagles annual Faith Classic Tournament. The Eagles continued to improve and were able to enter the semester break with a 5-6 record.
Having learned valuable lessons during the first semester, the Eagles began to assert themselves in the second half of the season. Faith stormed out of the gates, winning every game in January to move to 11-6 on the year. A mis-step by the Eagles to open February resulted in a loss in a game in which Faith led by 10 with five minutes to play, but the Eagles quickly corrected things, winning four more in a row to move to 15-7 and secure a conference runner up finish for the regular season. Faith dropped their next game to Grace University, but didn't let that slow them down as they entered the conference tournament as the #2 seed. The Eagles advanced to the conference championship, but couldn't overcome Manhattan as they settled for conference tournament runner up. The Eagles were also recognized by the conference teams as the 2013-2014 Sportsmanship recipient.
Beginning with the game with Grace University, the Eagles faced a difficult schedule, with five of their last eight games coming against teams who were in the NCCAA Top 10, or had been at some point during the season. The Eagles would play well for large portions of each game, but found that in each game for a five to seven minute stretch, they would lose focus. Those short spans would prove to be the difference in each game the Eagles lost during that stretch. Faith was ousted from the regional tournament by Trinity Bible, and dropped their first two games of the ACCA tournament to Rhema Bible and Hillsdale Free Will Baptist.
The Eagles entered the ACCA tournament as the #6 seed in the Division 1 portion of the tournament. The nod to the upper division was a testament to the Eagles improvement, but led to an uphill battle for the Eagles from a competitive standpoint. Of the eight teams in the upper division, five were either NCCAA Top 10 teams, or had been ranked in the Top 10 throughout the year. After falling to 3rd seeded Rhema Bible in the quarterfinal (who ended the tournament as the runner up), the Eagles faced Hillsdale Free Will Baptist in the semifinal. Hillsdale was the #2 seed in the tournament, but had been upset in their opening round game. The Eagles gave a valiant effort, but couldn't pull out the victory as they fell by 10. In their final game of the tournament, the Eagles faced Baptist Bible College, MO. Both teams showed signs of exhaustion, finding themselves in their third game in three days. The result was a high scoring affair in which the Eagles were able to win on an exciting three point shot at the buzzer, securing a win for the men in their final game of the season.
The Eagles had a balanced attack all year, as four men finished the year averaging double digits. As a team the Eagles finished in the top 25 in every statistical category, led the nation in field goal percentage, and were second in the nation in assists per game. The team came within .5% of tying the school record for free throw percentage. Several men were recognized with post season awards. Cody Chaffin was a 1st Team All Conference, 1st Team All Region, and 1st Team ACCA All American. Aaron Leistikow was a 2nd Team All Conference, 2nd Team All Region, and 2nd Team ACCA All American. Timothy O'Tool was a 2nd Team All Region Selection.
The Eagles have the potential to return a very solid team next year, as they graduate only two seniors. The team and coaching staff would like to thank all the parents, friends, and fans for their support throughout the season.
