Faith Academy boys basketball beat Yavneh Academy as No. 1 team in poll

CAPTION: Faith Academy freshman forward Hutton Lehmberg is making the most of his minutes. Photo by Stennis Shotts

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team defeated Yavneh Academy of Dallas 52-45 Dec. 14 in a top 5 showdown.

The Flames, who are ranked No. 1 in the Private Schools Class 3A poll of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, led 11-10 after the first period and 25-24 at the half before the two played to a 36-36 tie headed into the final quarter.

That’s when Faith outscored the Bulldogs 16-9 for the victory. The Flames didn’t allow a Bulldog to score in double digits.

It was a great bounce-back victory after losing to Austin Regents 56-53 Dec. 10.

Trailing 55-53 with seconds left, the Flames stole the ball and raced to the opposite end for a shot in the paint that was missed.

Head coach Zakk Revelle pointed out this contest allowed his players to learn some tough lessons.

“How do you put teams away?” he said. “We hope to continue to learn to do that.”

Regents’ football season had recently ended and had its expected varsity roster. Revelle noted the game was a tale of two halves.

“In the first half, … they shot the ball poorly,” he said. “We didn’t shoot it great, but we didn’t shoot it badly. They made seven shots from the 3-point line in the second half. When someone is shooting 50 percent of 3-pointers, it’s tough.”

As for being ranked No. 1, Revelle noted it’s happened before in 2021 “as we headed into the playoffs.”

The Flames began the season ranked No. 2 until recently.

“We don’t pay much attention to it,” he said. “When the season is over, we want to be the last one standing. It’s a nice thing for the school. We’re definitely honored by it. It says a lot about our guys.”

Faith is at Lampasas for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff Tuesday, Dec. 17.

CAPTION: Faith Academy junior center Judah Phillips draws constant attention when he’s in the lane. Photo by Stennis Shotts