Faith Christian weathers storm in win

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 28, 2007 1:48 PM

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The 30-point deficit seemed insurmountable.

And realizing his reserves needed some playing time, Faith Christian men's basketball coach Jeff Stocks opted to clear the bench with four minutes remaining against Berean Baptist on Tuesday evening.

"I told them to sit inside the 3-point line and let them shoot," said Stocks. "I told them 'don't foul and rebound', which is something we didn't do in stretches. We got lazy and I take some of the blame for that."

The Bulldogs nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback.

Jimmie Birkholz, Jared Smith and Brent Douglas combined to hit 6 of 10 three-pointers in a 36-point fourth period, but the Conquerors held on for a 77-72 victory. Faith Christian (2-2 overall) claimed its N.C. Christian Schools Association Coastal Region 2-A West opener, while Berean (0-3) exited 0-2 in division play.

"I'm trying to get these guys some experience and my pride nearly took over," said Stocks. "I decided to let them learn. This teaches us what we have to work on and what we need to take from practice into a game."

The Conquerors return two starters and five seniors from last year's state championship squad. Taylor Stocks and Jeremy Sandlin saw a majority of playing time last season and served as role players to an experienced corps of seniors.

Now Stocks is trying to blend six new faces with his returners, develop depth and find some team chemistry. The group looked pretty good against the Bulldogs.

Faith Christian bolted to a 14-0 lead and slowly increased its double-digit advantage through three-plus quarters. Stocks' team controlled the boards and played unselfishly as a team with 17 assists on 26 field goals.

"We took good shots early and when we can do that, I think we can be competitive with anybody," said Stocks. "We lost 75 percent of our offense from last year. The guys from last year who didn't score realize they have to step up and score.

"I think tonight helped build our confidence and we played good team ball."

Sandlin led four Conquerors in double figures with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Sandlin is expected to undergo an MRI on his left knee Thursday after injuring it two weeks ago in a pre-holiday tournament.

Brad Floars returned to the lineup and provided 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Taylor Stocks contributed nine of his 14 points in the second half to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.

Austen Webber supplied 13 points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists.

Faith Christian's girls took advantage of Berean's eight-minute scoring drought and escaped 34-32. Senior Alyssa Hill paced the Conquerors with a double-double -- 13 points, 16 rebounds.

"Alyssa has been my most-consistent player so far this season," said Faith Christian head coach Eddie Smith. "Most of our games are going to be like what you saw tonight. We're not skilled enough to pull away from anybody and win.

"If we can keep it close, we'll have a chance to win."

Berean grabbed a 25-20 lead late in the third quarter and went cold on offense. The Bulldogs missed their next 14 field-goal attempts and the Conquerors slowly chipped away at the lead.

Hill's offensive putback off Lindsey Godwin's missed 3-point attempt put the Conquerors ahead for good. A Godwin free throw and Renee Provencal's running one-hander in the lane, that agonizing bounced around the rim before dropping through the net, increased Faith Christian's advantage to 32-26.

The Bulldogs pulled within a single basket, but Hill's driving layup off an inbounds pass sealed the Conquerors' home-opening victory.

"That kind of deflated the other team, I thought," said Smith. "They fought back and then gave up an easy basket like that."

Godwin complemented Hill with an 11-point effort. Provencal, Kristen Maddux, Kaitlyn Floars and Rebecca Smith also scratched in the scoring column. Madison Caudle, playing on a gimpy right ankle, pulled down eight rebounds and dished out two assists.

Boys game

Berean 12 13 11 36 -- 72

Faith Christian 21 24 22 10 -- 77

BEREAN (0-3, 0-2)

Jimmie Birkholz 2 3 0-0 13, Jared Smith 2 4 0-0 16, Greg Adams 0 0 0-0 0, Ryan Usher 0 0 0-0 0, Ryan Ikeya 2 0 0-2 4, Brent Douglas 2 2 0-0 10, Shawn Andrews 14 0 1-6 29, Van Dues 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 22 9 1-10 72.

FAITH CHRISTIAN (2-2, 1-0)

Austen Webber 5 0 3-5 13, Phillip Hardy 0 0 0-0 0, Eric Powell 2 0 0-1 4, Dustin Mitchell 0 0 0-1 0, Taylor Stocks 2 3 1-3 14, Jeremy Sandlin 7 0 5-8 19, Jay Hinson 0 0 0-0 0, Ryan Scharadan 0 0 3-4 3, Brad Floars 4 1 4-4 15, Wilson Head 0 1 2-2 5, Drew Floars 1 0 2-4 4. TOTALS -- 21 5 20-31 77.

Girls game

Berean 6 8 11 7 -- 32

Faith Christian 6 7 9 12 -- 34

BEREAN (2-1, 1-1)

Kaley Andrews 1 0 0-2 2, Veronica Bacon 4 0 0-0 8, Allie Paschal 0 0 0-0 0, Jordan Woosley 2 0 0-0 4, Lisa Dundore 6 0 1-4 13, Emily Dundore 2 0 1-2 5. TOTALS -- 15 0 2-8 32.

FAITH CHRISTIAN (2-1, 1-0)

Kristen Maddux 1 0 0-0 2, Madison Caudle 0 0 0-0 0, Renee Provencal 1 0 0-2 2, Brook Anderson 0 0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Floars 1 0 0-0 2, Lindsey Godwin 2 2 1-3 11, Alyssa Hill 6 0 1-3 13, Katie Stevens 0 0 0-0 0, Rebecca Smith 2 0 0-0 4. TOTALS -- 13 2 2-8 34.