Faith Academy boys basketball loses to Waco Live Oak
CAPTION: Faith Academy freshman guard Will Slyker makes sure the Flames gave themselves a chance against Waco Live Oak. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team lost to Waco Live Oak 63-59 Feb. 9.
That means the Flames (23-10, 9-2) must win at Round Rock Christian at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, to claim the outright District 3-3A title of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools and the right to host the first game of the playoffs.
If the Crusaders win, there’s a a three-way tie for the district title and the Flames are looking at playing the first playoff contest on the road.
“Losing that game (to Live Oak) doesn’t mean much if we take care of business on Tuesday,” head coach Zakk Revelle said.
Revelle called the environment at Live Oak incredible and praised the staff and school for creating excitement for the contest.
“It was a really fun and competitive game,” he said. “They had a pep rally and all-day thing they call Hoopla. Credit to them for creating that. It was a really crazy loud gym. They have a huge student section. We love going into those environments and competing. They’ll remember it forever.”
That propelled the Falcons (29-6, 9-3) to an early 11-3 lead in the first quarter. But the Flame responded with a 10-3 run to lead 13-10 going into the second stanza.
“The resiliency of our guys showed,” Revelle said.
And that determination ensured Faith led until the final 3 minutes of the contest. At that point, the teams exchanged baskets with neither one allowing the other to lead by more than a possession.
“It was a very back-and-forth contest,” the coach said. “They hit a big 3-pointer to go up by 1. We got a couple of good looks that didn’t go in.”
That came late in the contest and Revelle instructed the Flames to foul to conserve time. To the Falcons’ credit, they made their free throws and outscored Faith 12-9 down the stretch.
“Some guys (for Live Oak) we weren’t expecting to play well did,” Revelle said. “That’s what happens in big games.”
Faith freshman guard Will Slyker led all scorers with 27 points.
“(Live Oak head coach Kyle) Combs is such an incredible coach,” Revelle said. “We love competing with them. It’s an honor to compete with those guys. It was a great high school environment. It’s really fun basketball in competitive environments.”
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