Faith Academy boys lose to Waco Reicher
CAPTION: Faith Academy sophomore center Judah Phillips continues to be a tough matchup for opponents. In addition to using his length, Phillips is developing a different shots that make it difficult for opponents to stop him. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team lost to Waco Bishop Reicher 58-51 Feb. 3 to snap a 10-game winning streak.
It’s the Flames’ (22-9, 8-1) first loss in District 3-3A play of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
“Major credit to (head coach Gary) Hall and their staff,” Faith head coach Zakk Revelle said. “They played like they wanted to win; we played like we should win. I thought we were focused. But we didn’t have that sense of urgency you need to win games on the road. It just wasn’t there.”
No statistic illustrated that more than the turnovers. The Flames average about 10 a game. Against Reicher, they had 17.
Revelle noted Faith also decided not to attack them with a full-court defense.
“The last time we played them, we pressed,” he said. “We knew they would practice that. We had guys who got in foul trouble. We lose the game by seven and fouled them one time on purpose. They were 16 of 21 on free throws. We shot 5 of 10. Credit to them cause they played well.”
In the last 41 district contests, Faith is 39-2. Both losses are on a Saturday in Waco. The first was to Waco Live Oak 48-43 Jan. 21, 2023.
The Flames visit Bryan Brazos Christian Tuesday, Feb. 6. Brazos (6-2) is looking to close the gap against Faith. The Flames won the first time the two teams played 74-60 Jan. 18. Reicher was supposed to host Brazos, but a facility issue forced the two teams move the game to Feb. 14.
“If we win two of the last three, we’re the outright district champions,” Revelle said. “If we win one of the last three, we can do no worse than third. We hope to go (to Bryan) and fix the issues we had (against Reicher).”
Since the Flames went undefeated in the first round, they can do what most teams want – control their own destiny.
“We really put ourselves in the driver’s seat and forced everybody else to play well,” the coach said. “We want to win a district title – that’s the goal. We know we’re in (the playoffs). Let’s try to get better every day.”
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