Faith Academy boys basketball beat Keystone in district opener
CAPTION: Faith Academy junior center Judah Phillips continues to dominate the lane thanks to his 6-foot and 10-inch height long arms. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team made quick work of San Antonio Keystone 73-44 Jan. 4 in the District 4-3A opener of the Texas Association of Private and Schools.
“At the beginning of the year, everyone has goals,” Flames head coach Zakk Revelle said. “It’s hard to win district if you don’t win district games. For this team to go in and handle their business is a great sign. We had a great week of practice. It was a really good way to start district.”
The Flames (12-9, 1-0) relied on one end of the court to build their lead, he said.
“It started defensively,” the coach said. “We did a great job at the beginning of the game of understanding assignment offense.”
Faith put massive pressure on the Cobras, who struggled to get an offensive flow. By pressing against ball handlers after they picked up their dribble and the Flames stepping in passing lanes, Faith had extra possessions thanks to steals and turnovers. When Keystone did shoot and miss, the Flames limited them to one shot.
By the end of the first period, Faith led 20-13. Then the Flames outscored the Cobras 29-4 in the second stanza to build a 49-17 lead.
“We got steals, run-outs and layups,” Revelle said. “We did a really good job of understanding assignment offense.”
That means that once the Flames had the ball, each player knew which lanes to fill and where to go depending on where the ball handler was located. Those rotations were crucial in getting high-percentage shots and creating separation on the scoreboard, Revelle said.
“We only made one or two 3-pointers,” he said.
Sophomore guard Will Slyker scored 27 points “and didn’t make a 3-pointer,” the coach said.
Junior center Judah Phillips added 18 points, sophomore forward Seattle Hampton dropping in 13, and senior guard Asher Apel finished with 11.
“I think it says we’re headed in the right direction,” Revelle said. “It was a good thing we played tough teams early. Remember the loss to Lake Travis (95-52) Nov. 8. Obviously we weren’t happy we lost. We scored 52 points. If we can score against a team that good, we can score. We have some guys who can really score. Everyone can star in their role. It makes us really good.”
The Flames welcome San Marcos Academy with the junior varsity playing at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity to follow.
“We scored 73 points,” Revelle said. “And we’ve scored zero points against San Marcos Academy. We have to score again and play defense.”
CAPTION: Faith Academy sophomore guard Will Slyker keeps showing people why he was on the all-state team last year. Photo by Stennis Shotts
