Faith Christian boys fall to Bethel

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on January 7, 2009 1:46 PM

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Faith Christian took too long to shake off the rust from an extended holiday break on Tuesday evening.

The Conquerors couldn't find an offensive rhythm in a 50-37 loss to Bethel Christian Academy. It was Faith Christian's first game since Dec. 8, 2008.

"This team has a lot of talent, but they tend to get distracted easily," said assistant coach Micah Conlon. "It was tough over the break to keep the focus and it showed tonight."

Conlon was pressed into head coaching duties thanks to a teacher's conference that forced head coach Jeff Stocks to miss the contest.

In the first half, the Trojans built a 32-17 lead thanks to some hot outside shooting and a decisive advantage in the rebounding battle.

Will Creekmore buried a pair of shots from beyond the arc which gave Bethel an early 6-0 advantage. Jacob Sutton picked up the outside momentum with two 3-pointers of his own in the early moments of the second quarter.

Wilson Head kept the Conquerors within shouting distance with six points in the opening nine minutes.

"We are a dominating team inside against most of the teams we play," said Conlon. "I thought they did a good job of contesting shots underneath and making us work to get good looks."

Turnovers and ball control told the tale of the third quarter as the teams played defensive-minded, but mistake-prone basketball. Faith cut the Bethel lead to 11 points midway through the third period, but never got any closer.

An 11-4 run that spanned the final seconds of the third, and the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter, sealed the victory for the Trojans.

"These guys all know how to shoot, and they know how to play defense," said Conlon. "Tonight the slow start was just too much to overcome. We played the final six minutes like we are capable... We should have been playing that way the whole game."

On the night Faith was paced by Head's 14 points. Brad Floars scored all eight of his points in the second half. Eric Powell added seven markers and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Bethel (11-5 overall) was led by Sutton's 16-point outburst. Isaac Brown added 14 points and Creekmore rounded out the Trojans in double figures with 12 points. Adam Vandiford pulled down a team-high eight boards.

Faith Christian (4-3) will be back in action on Thursday when they host Berean Christian.