Eagles Take No. Three Manhattan Christian to the Wire
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
30 | 37 | 67 |
|
|
48 | 41 | 89 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
41 | 30 | 71 |
|
|
30 | 39 | 69 |
Team Stats
Barclay College
| Game Statistics | Barclay College | Faith Baptist Bible College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-62) | (32-71) |
| Field Goal % | 40.3% | 45.1% |
| Rebounds | 28 | 46 |
| Assists | 4 | 23 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 21 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 27 | 23 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 13 |
| Pts in the Paint | 40 | 34 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 2 | 37 |
Manhattan Christian College
Faith Baptist Bible College
| Game Statistics | Manhattan Christian College | Faith Baptist Bible College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (29-66) | (26-61) |
| Field Goal % | 43.9% | 42.6% |
| Rebounds | 34 | 36 |
| Assists | 9 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 16 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 11 | 13 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 7 |
| Pts in the Paint | 34 | 30 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 20 | 23 |
ANKENY, Iowa—Saturday's ending to the Faith Eagles and third-ranked Manhattan Christian College game was reminiscent of another all-time in classic college basketball, a game known as, "The Shot," with a miraculous pass and finish from Duke's Grant Hill to Christian Laettner in the 1992 Elite Eight. Unfortunately, the Faith Eagles were on the wrong side of the outcome in this Instant Classic.
If you are a college basketball fanatic, you are aware that the 1992 Elite Eight matchup between Duke and Kentucky is regarded as one of the greatest games in NCAA history. Duke trailed by one point with 2.1 seconds remaining, and needed to go the length of the court to make a basket to win the game. It was an improbable task, requiring a perfect pass and execution of the shot with so little time remaining. Duke's Grant Hill threw the inbounds pass the length of the court to Christian Laettner, who whirled and made a last second shot to beat the Wildcats. The play is aired over and over each March during the NCAA Tournament.
Unfortunately for the Faith Eagles, the end to a masterful comeback against the nation's third-ranked team on Saturday ended in eerily similar fashion. The last time the two teams met, Manhattan ran away with the outcome, defeating the Eagles by 36 points. Things were trending the same direction on Saturday as Manhattan sped to a 17-point lead with 6:45 remaining in the first half. The Eagles cut the lead to 11 by halftime giving the team a realistic hope for a second half comeback.
Faith opened the second half on a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 45-43 with 15:24 remaining, and the fight was on. It felt like if the Eagles could just gain the lead, the momentum would carry them to victory. With just under 10 minutes to play, they took a 52-51 lead. The final nine and a half minutes featured four ties and 10 lead changes as Faith battled neck and neck with one of the nation's elite.
A made basket by Jared Pearson stretched the Eagles' lead to five with just under two minutes to play, and it seemed that Faith was going to pull off the upset, but Manhattan battled back to take a two point lead with 25 seconds left.
The Eagles went straight to their star guard, Chris Barnette, who answered with the tying shot with five seconds to play. After a Manhattan turnover, the Eagles had a chance to win the game with the ball underneath their own basket and just 2.1 seconds remaining, but the Eagles threw the ball away with no time expiring.
Following a timeout, Manhattan needed to go nearly the entire length of the court with 2.1 seconds remaining, just like Duke/Kentucky in 1992, with exactly the same amount of time remaining. The ensuing inbounds pass and basket was nearly a replica of Hill to Laettner as the perfectly passed ball by Manhattan sailed over the heads of the Eagles' defenders right into the waiting hands of Manhattan's Garrett Harmison who made the layup as time expired.
The loss came after a commanding victory the night before over Barclay. Two Eagles shined in particular over the weekend, with Jared Pearson scoring 14 in both contests and Chris Barnette scoring 24 on Friday night and 23 on Saturday.
The Eagles (7-9) have a quick turnaround with a road game at Emmaus Bible College at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Faith defeated Emmaus 88-79 in their first meeting this year.
