Faith Christian splits with Bethel Christian

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on January 3, 2007 2:32 PM

• Print
• Email

To the spectators in the stands at Faith Christian, the Conquerors game against Bethel Christian resembled hockey more than basketball.

In a game where the officials swallowed their whistles, Faith Christian used a 16-2 run to open the third quarter to pull away and defeat the Trojans 52-42 on Tuesday night in Class 2-A N.C. Christian Schools Association Coastal Region play.

"They let the players decide it, that's for sure," Faith Christian coach Jeff Stocks said. "You've got to recognize when (the officials) aren't going to call much at all and just play."

Even with the hard play -- especially during the fourth quarter when Bethel Christian was trying to foul or force a turnover -- the Conquerors never lost their cool with the rough play.

"We held our composure well," Stocks said.

T.J. Sasser led Faith Christian (8-1, 4-0) with 15 points and drilled three shots from behind the arc. Jeremy Sandlin added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

"(Jeremy's) the man when it comes to rebounding," Stocks said. "He stays at it. Rebounding takes heart and desire and he's got that."

Aaron Wells led Bethel Christian (4-5, 1-4) with 15 points.

Both teams hard a rough time adjusting to the physical play during the first half when points were hard to come by.

The Trojans held a 10-7 lead after the first quarter and built the lead to 15-9 with 6:19 to play in the second following a free-throw from Wells.

Faith Christian then got a spark from Brad Floars who nailed a long three-pointer. The basket ignited a 7-0 run, giving the Conquerors a 16-15 lead.

After leading 22-21 at the half, Faith Christian took control of the game by shutting down the Trojans in the third quarter.

The Faith Christian man-to-man defense would hold Bethel Christian to one field goal over the first 7:49 of the quarter, to open up a 38-23 lead.

"We toughened it up and played hard," Stocks said. "It's a team effort. Defense isn't one on one."

On offense, Sasser did plenty of damage in the period by hitting two three-pointers and scoring 10 points.

"(T.J.) hadn't been doing that, so that's good for him," said Stocks on Sasser's shots from long range. "It gave us a big lift."

The fourth quarter was more of the same hard play on both ends, but the Conquerors and point guard Taylor Stocks maintained control, despite some intense moments. Despite the hard play -- which included flying elbows and swatting hands -- the Conquerors kept their temper in check and had the energy at the end to hold on and never let the Trojans get closer then eight points.

"We seemed to be a little more fresh in the second half," said Stocks. "It was probably the best team effort we've had this season."

The Faith Christian girls gave their Bethel Christian counterparts a strong game during three of the quarters. The problem was, the one bad quarter the Conquerors had sealed their fate.

After playing to a 12-12 tie at the end of one quarter, Faith Christian would go scoreless for the next 13:30 minutes and eventually fall to the Trojans 40-28.

"A miserable second quarter," Faith Christian coach Eddie Smith said. "Grey hairs and heart problems come with the second quarter."

During that quarter, Faith Christian would miss all nine of their shots and turn the ball over five times. Their offense was at a standstill with players settling for contested jump shots while not looking inside.

"We just were not moving or hitting jump shots," said Smith. "You take one shot and it's over with."

Bethel Christian took full advantage -- outscoring Faith Christian 14-0 in the quarter to go up 26-12 at halftime.

"We played a good first quarter," said Smith. "We just dug too deep of a hole in the second quarter."

The bad night on the offensive end didn't affect the Conquerors defensive effort, especially in the second half.

Faith Christian's defense held the Trojans to just five third quarter points and nine in the fourth.

"It seemed like the man-to-man defense slowed them down enough for us to make a run," said Smith.

A modest 7-2 run would cut the lead to 38-26 on a three from Kristen Maddox, but that's the closest Faith Christian would get.

"First game out of the holiday, we were kind of rusty," Smith said. "We just had one miserable quarter which blew it.

Maddox and Amie Hill led Faith Christian (3-4, 1-3) with six points each while Lindsey Godwin added five.

Courtney Spence had a game high 17 points for Bethel Christian (4-7).

Boys Game

Bethel Christian 10 11 6 15 -- 42

Faith Christian 7 15 16 14 -- 52

BETHEL CHRISTIAN (4-5, 1-4)

Aaron Wells 5 0 5-8 15, Tyler Potter 3 2 1-1 13, Josh Davis 3 0 0-0 6, Jordan O'Neal 1 0 1-4 3, Marcus Pitt 1 0 1-2 3, Kyle Houston 0 0 2-2 2. TOTALS -- 13 2 10-17 42.

FAITH CHRISTIAN (8-1, 4-0)

T.J. Sasser 3 3 0-1 15, Jeremy Sandlin 7 0 0-0 14, Aaron Sladick 4 0 3-4 11, Austen Webber 2 0 0-0 4, Taylor Stocks 0 1 0-1 3, Brad Floars 0 1 0-0 3, Blake Plummer 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 17 5 3-6 52.

Girls Game

Bethel Christian 12 14 5 9 -- 40

Faith Christian 12 0 5 11 -- 28

BETHEL CHRISTIAN (4-7)

Courtney Spence 8 0 1-6 17, Courtney Harrell 5 0 5-6 15, Samantha Sessoms 1 0 2-2 4, Amanda Humphrey 1 0 0-0 2, Emily Jordan 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 16 0 8-13 40.

FAITH CHRISTIAN (3-4, 1-3)

Amie Hill 3 0 0-0 6, Kristen Maddox 0 2 0-0 6, Lindsey Godwin 1 1 0-0 5, Madison Caudle 2 0 0-0 4, Renee Provencal 0 1 0-2 3, Alyssa Hill 0 0 2-4 2, Katie Stevens 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 7 4 2-6 28.