Faith Academy boys basketball loses to Waco Live Oak

CAPTION: Few teams have an answer for Faith Academy senior center Judah Phillips, including Waco Live Oak. Photo by Stennis Shotts

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team lost to Waco Live Oak 72-52 Jan. 17 in District 4-3A of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

The game pitted the No. 1 ranked team, Live Oak, against the No. 2 team, Faith Academy, in the Class 3A private schools poll of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.

“They played a really good game,” Flames head coach Zakk Revelle said. “Live Oak is really good. They’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason. We just got beat today. It’s a make or miss sport, and they made them.”

The game began the way most fans would think — close — with the Falcons leading 16-15 going into the second quarter.

Faith trailed 24-17 when senior guard Jase Marshall nailed a 3-pointer from the right side to trim the deficit to four points.

But the Falcons answered with a lay-up and closed the quarter on an 11-3 run for a 35-23 advantage.

The third quarter was much of the same as the two teams exchanged buckets during the opening four minutes.

But Live Oak added to its 37-28 lead by going on a 12-6 run to end the period for a 52-34 advantage going into the final stanza.

The Falcons hit 3-pointers on the final play of the second and third quarters that bolstered their confidence as they headed to the sideline.

Live Oak outscored Faith 20-18 in the fourth period.

Revelle said the Flames got the start they wanted on the offensive end to begin the contest.

“I feel like we played very well offensively,” he said. “You can’t give up 72 points in a game and win a lot of games. We have to play better defense. As coaches, we have to scout better. And I would take ownership of that. They had some guys who did some things that maybe we weren’t necessarily ready for. But in a big game like that, No. 1 versus No. 2, you’re expecting stuff to happen like somebody to make a play or something like that. And they made more plays than we did, so kudos to them for being able to do that.”

Live Oak junior guard Duncan Ogden scored 27 points thanks to nailing four 3-pointers while brother Jayden, a senior, added 14 points and had seven assists, seven rebounds and seven steals, and junior guard Alex Thompson dropped in 15. All three played at least 30 minutes and no one else was close to double figures on any individual stats.

In all, the Falcons made 19 of 26 two-pointers, connected on 10 of 27 three-pointers, and were 4 for 10 from the foul line.

Meanwhile, the Flames missed at least a dozen two-foot shots and sometimes they had multiple shot attempts on the same possession. And it wasn’t just one Flame. Drives to the hoop and attempts that normally fall that include a drop step and using the backboard simply clanked off the rim.

Senior center Judah Phillips scored 26 points. No other Flame was in double figures. Junior forward Wade Dillard “played really well, so kudos to him for the job on his part,” Revelle said.

“This wasn’t our day,” he added. “We got good looks the whole game. That’s just kind of the way the day went. Sometimes it’s like that and you just hope that the next time you see somebody that it’s not like that. It is what it is. They’re a really good team. Don’t take anything away from them. You have to play well if you want to beat them. And we just didn’t play very well. And so that’s a recipe for the No. 1 team in the state to beat you, so that’s what they do.”

Faith welcomes Temple Central Texas Christian Tuesday, Jan. 20, with the boys junior varsity playing at 5 p.m., the girls varsity at 6 p.m. and the boys varsity at 7:30 p.m.   

CAPTION: Faith senior guard Jase Marshall does what he can get to get the offense going. Photo by Stennis Shotts