Marble Falls Faith Academy boys hoops discovers plenty from playing in own tourney
CAPTION: Faith Academy senior power forward Brock Davis was his usual high-performing self in leading the Flames in points during their tournament. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team finished its tournament Dec. 16-17 with a 1-3 record.
After beating Bulverde Bracken 55-34 Dec. 16, the Flames lost to TMI Episcopal 76-42, Austin Veritas 62-32 and San Antonio Home School 62-56.
“On day two, we didn’t that well as much as you’d like to,” head coach Zakk Revelle said. “We did some good things and not some good things. We found out we have some deficiencies we need to fix.”
One may be simply having a complete roster of healthy players. Going into the tournament, not every Flame was feeling 100 percent because of illness. That may have limited Revelle’s options on line-ups and substitutions. Still, the coach was pleased with the efforts of his players, noting the Flames made the most of the minutes they played. That’s why he got a list of areas they can improve as they come closer to wrapping up their tournament season.
“We did some different things defensively,” Revelle said. “When you’re playing in our last game at 4:30, why not do it? Why not use a live game for live reps? I think it’s ultimately good.”
It also helped having some quality opponents such as TMI Episcopal whose head coach is former San Antonio Spurs small forward Bruce Bowen, who won three NBA titles with them. Another opponent that played well is Veritas, Revelle said.
“This is the team they’ve been waiting on,” he said. “They have eight seniors on that roster and rank (No. 9 in the latest Class 4A Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools poll by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches). Their culture is great, and they understand what their common goals are. And San Marcos Home School is well coached every year. They had some guards who were effective. They had two of the best guards in the tournament.”
Revelle said the tournament helped every team that played, and he believes fans enjoyed the players’ efforts.
“A big thank you to everybody who came,” he said. “The competition was probably the best we’ve had. Bringing in teams like Austin Regents and TMI, everyone plays harder and tries harder because you have good teams there. Why not get as many good teams as you can in one spot? We have a couple of teams who’ll come back. They know there’s good basketball that’s played here. People who love basketball don’t always get to see it year in and year out.”
The Faith Academy boys and girls basketball teams will compete in the Irion County holiday tournament Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 28-29.
The boys play Ballinger at 1 p.m. and Hamilton at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Irion County at 9:15 a.m. and Highland at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday.
The girls face Irion County at 2:15 p.m. and Hamilton at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday and Mason at 8 a.m. and Highland at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
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