By Tim Donelli CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
United Faith’s Falcons pulled out a close non-conference matchup Friday at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge, slipping past the Concord First Assembly Eagles 78-72 at Rocky River High School.
Falcons’ senior guard Jalen Knight had 25 points to lead United Faith, including nine fourth-quarter points. Knight also went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes as Concord First Assembly (4-2) was forced to foul to try to claw back from behind.
United Faith 6-8 post KC Hankton was named player of the game after the Falcon’s win over Concord First Assembly Courtesy Charlotte Hoops Challenge
After trailing for most of the game, the Eagles tied the score at 70 with two minutes, 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But the Falcons (6-0) outscored Concord First Assembly 8-2 the rest of the way for the win.
"We came together as a team, decided to play hard, stayed focused, and came out with the win," said Knight. "Coach (Josh Coley) kept us in the game and it was all good."
Brett Swilling poured in 20 points for the Falcons including three 3-point shots, while KC Hankton added 17 points and 14 rebounds for United Faith. Jason Thompson also finished in double figures with 14 points. Thompson’s 16 rebounds were a game high.
Two of the biggest factors in the Falcons win was forcing 21 Concord First Assembly turnovers while holding the Eagles to 1-of-12 shooting from three-point range.
"We preach to our guys turning defense to offense," said United Faith coach Josh Coley. "We preach to them that to get easy baskets, and kids love easy baskets, is to turn the other team over. We challenge them to take pride in stopping someone before anything offensively."
Stephen Edoka led Concord First Assembly with a game-high 26 points and game-high 16 rebounds. Lazar Popovic also scored 15 for the Eagles and Amari Waddell with 12 points.
WORTH MENTIONING: The Falcons actually practiced for an hour in their own gym before heading over to Rocky River for the game as Coley said to "get the turkey off of them."...Knight thas committed to D1 University of Hartford...Waddell had a ten-point third quarter and 12 points overall before fouling out with seven minutes left in the game.
THREE WHO MATTERED:
Jalen Knight, United Faith: The lone senior and captain for United Faith had a team-high 25 points, and went 13-of-16 from the free-throw line while adding three assists and playing for a team-high 32 minutes. He made 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
Stephen Edoka, First Assembly: The junior shooting guard for Concord First Assembly had a game-high 26 points and a game-high 16 rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting.
KC Hankton, United Faith: The Falcons’ junior 6-8-inch foward had 17 points, three 3-pointers, and 14 rebounds.
THEY SAID IT: "We got down early and I kind of felt like we were playing catch up most of the game. Right when we finally started to hit our stride and got into a rhythm we had Amiri (Waddell) foul out; and then soon after him our big guy Lazar (Popovic) foul out, so we got real small at the end, and the clock ran out. We had 21 turnovers which really killed us. It’s tough to win with 21 turnovers." Concord First Assembly coach Frank Cantadore.
WHAT’S NEXT: United Faith is off until next Friday when they’ll travel to Hickory to meet University Christian. Concord First Assembly plays at Weddington Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.
CONCORD FIRST ASSEMBLY 17 24 15 16 - 72
UNITED FAITH 25 22 14 17 - 78
CONCORD FIRST ASSEMBLY: Stephen Edoka 26, Lazar Popovic 15, Amari Waddell 12, Morris 8, Felder 4, Strahinja 4, Edwards 3.
UNITED FAITH: Jalen Knight 25, Brett Swilling 20, KC Hankton 17, Jason Thompson 14, Jenkins 2.
United Faith’s Falcons pulled out a close non-conference matchup Friday at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge, slipping past the Concord First Assembly Eagles 78-72 at Rocky River High School.
Falcons’ senior guard Jalen Knight had 25 points to lead United Faith, including nine fourth-quarter points. Knight also went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes as Concord First Assembly (4-2) was forced to foul to try to claw back from behind.
United Faith 6-8 post KC Hankton was named player of the game after the Falcon’s win over Concord First Assembly Courtesy Charlotte Hoops Challenge
After trailing for most of the game, the Eagles tied the score at 70 with two minutes, 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But the Falcons (6-0) outscored Concord First Assembly 8-2 the rest of the way for the win.
"We came together as a team, decided to play hard, stayed focused, and came out with the win," said Knight. "Coach (Josh Coley) kept us in the game and it was all good."
Brett Swilling poured in 20 points for the Falcons including three 3-point shots, while KC Hankton added 17 points and 14 rebounds for United Faith. Jason Thompson also finished in double figures with 14 points. Thompson’s 16 rebounds were a game high.
Two of the biggest factors in the Falcons win was forcing 21 Concord First Assembly turnovers while holding the Eagles to 1-of-12 shooting from three-point range.
"We preach to our guys turning defense to offense," said United Faith coach Josh Coley. "We preach to them that to get easy baskets, and kids love easy baskets, is to turn the other team over. We challenge them to take pride in stopping someone before anything offensively."
Stephen Edoka led Concord First Assembly with a game-high 26 points and game-high 16 rebounds. Lazar Popovic also scored 15 for the Eagles and Amari Waddell with 12 points.
WORTH MENTIONING: The Falcons actually practiced for an hour in their own gym before heading over to Rocky River for the game as Coley said to "get the turkey off of them."...Knight thas committed to D1 University of Hartford...Waddell had a ten-point third quarter and 12 points overall before fouling out with seven minutes left in the game.
THREE WHO MATTERED:
Jalen Knight, United Faith: The lone senior and captain for United Faith had a team-high 25 points, and went 13-of-16 from the free-throw line while adding three assists and playing for a team-high 32 minutes. He made 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
Stephen Edoka, First Assembly: The junior shooting guard for Concord First Assembly had a game-high 26 points and a game-high 16 rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting.
KC Hankton, United Faith: The Falcons’ junior 6-8-inch foward had 17 points, three 3-pointers, and 14 rebounds.
THEY SAID IT: "We got down early and I kind of felt like we were playing catch up most of the game. Right when we finally started to hit our stride and got into a rhythm we had Amiri (Waddell) foul out; and then soon after him our big guy Lazar (Popovic) foul out, so we got real small at the end, and the clock ran out. We had 21 turnovers which really killed us. It’s tough to win with 21 turnovers." Concord First Assembly coach Frank Cantadore.
WHAT’S NEXT: United Faith is off until next Friday when they’ll travel to Hickory to meet University Christian. Concord First Assembly plays at Weddington Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.
CONCORD FIRST ASSEMBLY 17 24 15 16 - 72
UNITED FAITH 25 22 14 17 - 78
CONCORD FIRST ASSEMBLY: Stephen Edoka 26, Lazar Popovic 15, Amari Waddell 12, Morris 8, Felder 4, Strahinja 4, Edwards 3.
UNITED FAITH: Jalen Knight 25, Brett Swilling 20, KC Hankton 17, Jason Thompson 14, Jenkins 2.
