Faith Academy boys basketball makes quick work of Round Rock Christian for first district win

CAPTION: Playing shutdown defense takes a team effort as illustrated by Faith Academy’s Elijah Blackington (left), Asher Apel and Brock Davis during the Flames’ win against Round Rock Christian Jan. 3. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team beat Round Rock Christian 70-29 Jan. 3 in the first game of District 3-3A play of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

“It sends a message to the rest of the district that Faith Academy is here, and we’re not going anywhere,” head coach Zakk Revelle said. “Our kids and parents have been great and our culture is to win. Every district game is big.”

Faith has won three district titles in a row.

To help them capture No. 4, the Flames built a 19-8 lead in the first quarter that went to 38-19 at the half behind the 3-point shooting of guards Gabe Lopez and Diego Chavira. Each scored three 3-pointers in the first half. By the end of the contest, Faith hit 10 3-pointers in the rout with Lopez scoring six of them to finish with 20 points. Chavira had 13 points.

While Revelle was pleased with the offense, he wanted to start with his team’s defense, noting the Flames didn’t allow the Crusaders to score in the final period after building a 56-29 advantage after three quarters.

“(Round Rock Christian coaches) had those guys ready to play,” he said. “They have good players, and they’re well coached. Credit to our guys, they came out and played hard. They gave effort and energy. Our coaches put together a good scouting report, and our guys executed great.”

To him, the contest came down to a simple basketball explanation.

“Good defense leads to good offense,” he said. “When it all starts working and you’re playing good defense, it really makes you feel better. Gabe is a rhythm guy, and he played well defensively. This is going to happen because everyone is going to focus on (senior power forward Brock Davis). They doubled- and triple-teamed Brock.”

While the Flames enjoyed their outside shooting, Davis continued to be his dominant self in the paint. Plainly, the Crusaders didn’t have an answer for his height, athleticism and desire to get to the ball and score. He finished with 18 points, senior post Elijah Blackington added eight, and senior post Will Lewis had seven.

“We have bigs who can play, and it makes it really difficult for teams to stop us,” Revelle said. “Elijah was the X factor. He had eight points and eight rebounds. He does the dirty work. You have to have someone who rebounds. Elijah provides that toughness. He shows up every day and doesn’t care about credit.”

Revelle still sees the intangibles in this team — height, natural speed and instincts — and believes it can accomplish all of its goals.

“We led them to the water,” he said. “Let’s see what this team can be.”

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