Trailing 5-2 in the first quarter, Faith Christian Academy used stingy team defense and a quick-striking offense to score the last 19 points of the first half en route to a 36-17 seventh-grade victory Thursday at Rotolo Middle School. The Falcons have now won five straight games after losing their season opener. Great work, FCA!
The Falcons (5-1 overall, 3-1 varsity) relied on a swarming 2-3 zone defense to force Rotolo into primarily long outside shots and contested mid-range shots while forcing 18 turnovers and limiting Rotolo to one difficult shot per possession thanks to strong defensive rebounding. FCA also ran the floor hard, scoring 19 points on transition layups, open jumpers and free throws.
FCA scored seven unanswered points to close the first quarter leading 9-5. Faith then clamped down on defense, holding Rotolo without a second-quarter point while pushing its lead to 21-5 at the half. Ben Riner made a pair of fast-break buckets to make it 13-5, Greg Betzelos hit a 3 and a pull-up jump shot to increase the lead to 18-5, Ben split two free throws and Greg capped the run with a driving layup.
After the teams traded baskets early in the third quarter, Faith blew the game open with 12 unanswered points capped by a fast-break jumper by Ethan Hansen and a three-pointer by Greg for a 36-9 lead. In all, FCA went on a 34-4 run from late in the first quarter to the end of the third period. Rotolo outscored Faith 8-0 in the final quarter.
Playing the whole game, Ben earned the hustle award for delivering tough perimeter defense on and off the ball and scoring a game-high 16 points in a variety of ways, from layups and free throws to pull-up jumpers, jump shots and rebound baskets. Please pray that Ben's injured wrists heal quickly. He was injured after getting fouled and knocked to the floor, landing on his wrists.
Ethan and Charlie Heredia shared the best attitude award with Greg for playing tough defense, doing a great job of consistently hustling to close out on shooters on the wing and baseline, pressure the ball and prevent open looks for Rotolo's perimeter players. Ethan added 4 points, and Greg poured in 14 points while grabbing 9 rebounds and dishing out a season-high 6 assists, finding open teammates with crisp passes to set up easy shots. Chris Nosewicz added 2 points and 4 rebounds, and Josiah Gartner, Cole Schulze and Bryce Riner provided solid bench support.
For the game, FCA shot an impressive 14 for 30 (46 percent), including over 50 percent in the first three quarters, and 6 of 8 on free throws (75 percent). More importantly, the Falcons' defense harassed Rotolo into 8 for 44 shooting (18.2 percent), the team's best defensive performance so far this young season. Great job, guys!
The Falcons practice on Monday from 4 to 5:35 p.m. to stay in shape and continue sharpening their skills and improving their team play as they prepare for a busy slate of games coming up in December.
