Faith Academy boys basketball loses to Waco Live Oak
CAPTION: Faith Academy head coach Zakk Revelle guided the Flames back to the state tournament for the second time in school history. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys basketball team lost to Waco Live Oak 62-54 Feb. 25 in a Class 3A state semifinal of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.
It’s the third time this season the Falcons have beaten the Flames. The other two times were in District 4-3A play.
“I’m just really proud of our team,” head coach Zakk Revelle said. “We told each other before the game that we loved each other no matter what. And so we stick to that. I’m a better man because of getting to coach these young men and I’m happy that they allowed me to coach them hard and just allowed me to coach them in general. They made their school proud and their community proud.”
Faith led 14-4 after the opening stanza thanks to Live Oak being scoreless for five minutes behind the strong play of seniors Judah Phillips and Jace Marshall, junior Seattle Hampton and sophomore Hudson Tatum.
“Hudson Tatum played a really good game, and we coached Hudson really hard,” Revelle said. “It was good to see him have a good game and some other guys hit some shots in some moments that were big moments.”
The Falcons answered thanks to junior guard Sawyer Hillman, who came off the bench to knock down three 3-pointers for a 22-18 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
But the Flames regained the lead 26-25 at the intermission. Live Oak junior guard Duncan Ogden hit a 3-pointer from the volleyball court line on the last possession of the half to cut it to a one-point deficit.
Faith extended the lead to 46-40 going into the final stanza and maintained the advantage 54-51 with 2:31 remaining.
That’s when the Falcons turned up the defensive intensity by forcing the Flames into five turnovers on inbounds plays. Live Oak finished the game on an 11-0 run for the victory.
“We won the game for 30 minutes, but unfortunately high school basketball is 32 minutes long,” Revelle said. “And we had some uncharacteristic turnovers at the end that ultimately led to our demise.”
Live Oak senior guard Jayden Ogden, a three-time district Defensive Valuable Player, played like a seasoned veteran, Revelle said.
“He played well the whole game and he was really steady for them throughout the whole game,” he said. “He’s had the last of a dying breed. He’s a pure point guard. He runs the show for them, he plays incredibly good defense. We were up by seven or eight and at one point by 10. But those moments are when you could easily pack it in. And he didn’t so major kudos to him.”
This is the second time in program history the Flames played at the state tournament. The first time was in the 2020-21 season. If other Faith teams had the goal to return to the Final Four, this one was on a mission and was stated by Phillips in early summer.
Phillips was apart of more than 85 Faith wins as a four-year starter. Marshall was a starter when he joined the program three years ago and Adam Merlick is a two-year letterman. Revelle credited the trio for an unexpected reason.
“It’s gonna sound funny, but they taught me to relax a little bit,” he said with a chuckle. “They were such a very laid back crew. They could joke around and have a good time. They obviously knew when to be serious and they’re serious players. I’m so thankful to them for the way that they treated me with kindness and they allowed me to coach them hard.”
The season ending is always hard and Revelle offered perspective.
“Basketball is just a game and it’s a really fun game, a game that little kids can play and adults play and we’re thankful that we get to do it together,” he said. “As for these guys as high schoolers, because the reality is that a lot of these guys aren’t going to play past high school basketball. And so the fact that they got a moment where they got to be on a stage like that, in that arena in that loud environment – you’ll never get stuff like that back. That stuff you’ll remember when you’re old like me and you don’t get to play anymore. So thankful to have done it with them.”
