Faith Christian drops Bethel Christian

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 30, 2010 1:47 PM

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Faith Christian needed one short surge to seize momentum against league foe Bethel Christian on Monday evening.

The 12-point run, which lasted three-plus minutes, pushed the Conquerors to a 57-35 victory in the N.C. Christian Schools Association Coastal 2-A opener for both teams.

Wes Caudle led three Faith players in double figures with 15 points and just missed a double-double with eight rebounds. Aaron Hill and Matt Lambert (five rebounds) pumped in 10 points apiece for the Conquerors, who had 15 team assists on 25 field goals.

"This crowd does that (plays unselfishly)," said Faith Christian head coach Jeff Stocks. "They're not interested in stats. A matter of fact, we don't even go over stats. We just play and their goal is to win, no matter who is scoring.

"We've had a different high scorer almost every game."

Manny Rivero emerged Bethel's offensive leader with a game-high 20 points. The senior, who is headed to Bob Jones (S.C.) University, has scored nearly 100 points in four outings this season.

Rivero drew two quick fouls within 2 1/2 minutes and his second basket tied the game at 6-6. The Conquerors (3-2 overall, 1-0 Coastal) answered with their 12-0 run, which was fueled by pressure defense and rebounding.

Silas Denlinger, who dished out a team-high six assists, and Caudle combined for 12 points in the opening quarter. Denlinger didn't score the remainder of the game. Caudle asserted himself in the paint and kept the Trojans off the boards.

"The press helped, ball-handling wasn't their strength and we knew that," said Stocks. "We just said when you get the ball, take off and go. We got up and down the floor real well.

"I thought we ran our offense well, made the extra pass, hustled and played good 'D.' I was pleased."

Faith led 38-12 at halftime and built as much as a 30-point advantage in the second half. Stocks substituted liberally throughout the second half and eight Conquerors scratched in the scoring column for the game.