The Faith Christian boys basketball team, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 3A, knew it would have its hands full with the array of weapons at the disposal of the Denver Lutheran Lights.
Yet the Eagles also knew they had something Lutheran could not counter — the inside presence of Derek McCartney.
McCartney, a 6-foot-4 junior, scored the first 11 points of the second half, sparking a Faith Christian surge that paved the way for a 65-57 victory against the host Lights in a Metro League game Friday night.
The Eagles remained the only undefeated team in league play (5-0) while improving to 14-1 overall. Lutheran (11-4, 2-3), ranked eighth in Class 2A, lost its third consecutive game.
“We had an advantage inside that we wanted to use,” Faith Christian coach Andrew Hasz said. “So we talked a lot about that. I also thought our guys executed a few wrinkles defensively that made (Lutheran) slow down a bit.
“We were able to stretch that lead out. They are such a talented team, but we did feel like inside was the place we wanted to go.”
Faith Christian led 31-28 at halftime before McCartney hoisted the Eagles upon his shoulders, scoring five consecutive baskets to open the third quarter, one of which resulted in a three-point play.
Foul trouble prevented McCartney, who finished with a game-high 21 points, from doing further damage, yet his teammates kept Lutheran at bay down the stretch.
Faith outscored the Lights 18-6 in the third quarter and did a commendable job mixing its defensive fronts against Lutheran’s leading scorer, Joel Haywood.
Haywood finished with 19 points, but scored nine of those in the fourth quarter while the Eagles were squarely in control.
“Basically, we wanted to stay on Haywood all night and make it tough for him,” said Faith guard Nathan Rindels, who finished with 14 points. “Everywhere else, we had good help defense.”
Faith Christian 12 19 18 16 — 65
Denver Lutheran 7 21 6 23 — 57
FC — Marshall 1 2-2 4, Rindels 5 2-4 14, McCartney 10 1-1 21, Chapman 1 0-0 2, Colson 8 2-2 19, Buchmann 0 0-0 0, Finnefrock 1 0-0 3, McCain 0 0-0 0, Hasz 0 0-0 0, Wolf 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 7-9 65.
DL — Joseph 1 0-0 2, Haywood 4 10-11 19, Kitashima 7 3-3 19, Col. Stuerke 5 1-2 12, Cor. Stuerke 2 0-0 5, Langewisch 0 0-0 0, Schilling 0 0-0 0, Schlager 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 14-16 57.
3-pt. goals — Rindels 2, Colson, Finnefrock; Kitashima 2, Col. Stuerke, Cor. Stuerke, Haywood.
