PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – Faulkner climbed all the way out of a 14-point deficit in the second half and took the lead before running out of gas in a 69-63 loss to No. 4 Arizona Christian Monday. The loss, which proved the first in program history during the Battle at the Beach event, came on the back of a 7-0 run from the Firestorm that started with 1:53 to play.
After the Eagles had taken the lead with a
Gabriel Rivera layup at the 3:01 mark, Arizona Christian recaptured the lead on a Jalik Dunkley three. Trent Hudgens then stepped in front of a Faulkner pass and took it the distance for an easy layup to move the lead to 63-60. After Faulkner turned it over on the ensuing possession, Hudgens converted another bucket to make it 65-60. K.J. Rogers connected on a bucket with 39 seconds left to narrow it back to one possession but the Eagles never could pull any closer.
The Eagles found themselves in the game despite getting no points from anyone other than Rivera for the first 12:06 of the second half. At the 7:54 mark,
Maliek Sadler came to life and sparked his team. A steal that led to a foul and two free throws ignited Sadler, who ripped off a personal seven-point run for his team. Rogers followed Sadler with a nine-point run of his own to help Faulkner continue climbing the mountain out of a 14-point hole. Rogers twice tied the game at the free throw line before the Rivera bucket put Faulkner on top. That lead lasted 1:07 after the Eagles' only lead of the first half existed for just 19 seconds.
Faulkner, which trailed 41-29 in the locker room, jumped into a zone in the second half to frustrate the Firestorm and hold it to 36 percent shooting from the field in the period. The recipe almost proved successful for the Eagles as they held an ACU team that averages 86 points per game to just 69.
Rogers paced Faulkner with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Rivera scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half. Sadler finished with 11 points.
Faulkner (8-1, 2-0 SSAC) suffered its first-ever loss at the Battle at the Beach, but will look to rebound Tuesday when it takes on No. 15 Florida Memorial.
