Faith Academy boys basketball outlasts Waco Live Oak

CAPTION: Faith Academy junior guard Asher Apel cuts off the running lane to the basket as senior guard Cross Sanchez runs to the lane to help. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team defeated Waco Live Oak 61-56 Jan. 20 to remain unbeaten in District 3-3A play of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

“I felt like our toughness (was the difference),” Flames head coach Zakk Revelle said. “We challenged them all year. If you want to win and win late in games, you have to be tough.”

Both teams matched each other bucket for bucket throughout the first quarter. When Live Oak led 8-4, junior guard Asher Apel hit a 3-pointer from the left corner and freshman guard Will Slyker added a step-back jumper for a 9-8 lead. Slyker scored the final points of the period to give the Flames a 17-13 advantage.

Faith led 22-15 midway through the second period when the Falcons went on a 13-4 run to take a 29-26 lead into the intermission. Revelle noted Live Oak took advantage of some Flames’ foul trouble.

Then Live Oak returned to the court and scored 11 seconds into the half for a 31-26 lead that ballooned to 35-28 in less than a minute of play.

Slyker and Apel answered by scoring 12 consecutive points to give Faith a 39-36 lead. Slyker connected on two free throws and passed to freshman forward Seattle Hampton for a bucket and a 43-42 advantage headed into the fourth period.

Senior guard Gabe Lopez came alive thanks to scoring on his own putback, adding two free throws, and knocking down a 3-pointer from the left corner. Meanwhile, Slyker scored lay-ups by hanging in the air a little longer, laying the ball high over the outstretched arms of blockers, or taking the contact and then releasing the ball. In the final 1:51 Slyker hit six consecutive free throws, while sophomore center Judah Phillips had 1.

Slyker finished with 34 points, scoring 19 in the second half. Lopez had 11, Apel added 10 and sophomore guard Jase Marshall, Hampton and Phillips each had 2.

Revelle chuckled as he thought back to what was said during halftime. He said he turned to assistant coach Malcolm Canada and had a question for his players.

“Let’s find out who we are,” he said. “Do we want to fight back? And then (Live Oak) scored on their first possession. The first two minutes of the fourth quarter was a rock fight with brick after brick after brick. They started hot, and we started hitting shots. I thought both teams played great.”

Faith welcomes Round Rock Christian Tuesday, Jan. 23, with the junior varsity taking the court at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 7:30 p.m. to finish an incredible stretch of games in a short amount of time.

“Round Rock Christian is all I’ve been thinking about since (the Live Oak game) ended,” Revelle said. “Four games in seven days is no easy task.”

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