Faith Academy boys basketball team beats Round Rock Christian to win outright district title
CAPTION: The 2023-24 Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team celebrates another district title with the traditional team photo and banner. The Flames are head coach Zakk Revelle (left), assistant coach Rich Coleman, Will Slyker, Seattle Hampton, Collten Kohutek, Judah Phillips, Jase Marshall, Asher Apel, Alan Hausman, Gabe Lopez, Micah Anderson, Cross Sanchez and assistant coach Malcolm Canada. Courtesy photo
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team scorched Round Rock Christian 75-47 Feb. 13 to win the District 3-3A championship of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
It’s the fifth consecutive district crown for the Flames, who are now 24-10 on the season and 10-2 in district play. Faith has won 41 of 44 district contests in the last five years.
“It’s all a credit to the players,” head coach Zakk Revelle said. “We’ve been blessed not only to have really great players but really great people. I think (retired Alabama head coach) Nick Saban said, ‘When your best players are your best people, you can do special things.’ I don’t get out there. I don’t rebound, I don’t shoot. It’s a testament to our players and their willingness to be champions. They let me call the plays every once in a while.”
But unlike last year, Faith isn’t sharing this one.
“This one meant a whole lot,” he added. “This is the toughest district we’ve been in, top to bottom. It’s the most talented. We have four teams ranked in the top 10. To go 4-2 against the top 10 in awesome. A lot of our competitors said a lot about where this group is at. I was told this was a rebuild year, this is the gap year. It felt really good. If this is a rebuild year, it says a lot about our program.”
He emphasized the success doesn’t happen without assistant coach Malcolm Canada.
“That dude is a grinder and an incredible coach,” Revelle said. “He’s an incredible human being. We feel like the program is headed in a great direction.”
He noted the Flames, despite beating the Crusaders 57-40 in the first round, didn’t feel they played well. So they arrived in Round Rock eager to have a better performance. And they delivered, their coach said.
“You’re kind of glad we didn’t play well,” the coach said. “It gave us the motivation. We’re going over there to beat Round Rock and play better than we did last time.”
Faith led 17-11 after the first quarter, and Revelle and his players looked to regroup during the one-minute rest before the start of the second stanza.
“We weren’t feeling too hot,” he said. “We gave up silly looks on defense.”
But by the end of the period, Faith led 38-18.
During the intermission, Revelle told his players they had two choices.
“You can either let them back in or you can go and put your foot on their throat,” he recalled saying. “We chose the latter.”
That was illustrated by the 13-0 run where Faith had “a series of steals and lay-ups,” the coach said. “It was a really good start to the third quarter.”
Before the game, the Crusaders honored their seniors, who shot the ball well from long range in the final quarter.
Revelle commended each of his players, emphasizing they all performed well. Now they turn their attention to the start of the playoffs. Because Faith is the district champion, the Flames received a bye. They’ll face the winner of Houston Westbury Christian and Waco Reicher at The Fire Pit Tuesday, Feb. 20, with a time still to be determined.
“To get to the Final Four, you have to go through Westbury or (Houston) St. Francis Episcopal,” Revelle said. “We’re thankful we get that game at home. We want to make Marble Falls as hospitable and unwelcoming as possible.”
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