Faith Christian hands Jenkintown first BAL loss
EAST ROCKHILL >> With the way the Faith Christian boys basketball team hounded Jenkintown in a myriad of missed shots and turnovers Friday night, Zeke Snowden’s description of the Lions’ defensive style was spot on.
“Dog,” the Faith junior said. “We come after you. We’re not going to let up.”
Faith Christian’s pressure got to the visiting Drakes from the start of the Bicentennial Athletic League Constitution Division contest. After Landon Coyle put Faith up 2-0, Jenkintown could not get over the halfcourt line to beat the 10-second count.
It was a sign of things to come in the first half for the Drakes, who registered just 11 points and trailed by 17 after 16 minutes.
Snowden, Coyle and Chris Clark, meanwhile, provided most of the offense for the Lions as they ended a two-game skid and handed Jenkintown its first BAL loss with a 64-48 victory.
“There were 35 possessions in the first half where we didn’t make a shot. So, that’s between turnovers and missed shots,” Jenkintown coach Wes Emme said. “That will never, ever win in a game. Thirty-five possessions, you don’t get a make, you’re just not going to win that way.
“That’s a credit to them. They really sped us up. And we didn’t execute on the offensive end, but most of that is because of their defense.”
Snowden finished with game-high 23 points – 19 coming in the middle quarters – while Coyle added 16 points and Clark chipped in 13 points for Faith (11-4, 7-2 division), who led by as much as 21 points three times in the third.
“We weren’t happy with that loss (to Phil-Mont Christian Tuesday). We had to come out strong and make a statement we’re not a team to mess with,” Snowden said. “When we get beat, we’re going to take it to heart.”
The last occurrence came after two Snowden free throws made it 43-22 at 4:03 in the quarter, but Jenkintown (12-3, 7-1) went on a 15-4 run – including eight straight points to start the fourth – to pull within 47-37 when Frank Sobolewski made a pair from the foul line with 5:50 left.
However, Coyle’s jumper and a Snowden bucket push Faith’s advantage to 14 as the closest the Drakes’ cut the margin to from there was nine (55-46) with the Lions putting the game away going 7-of-12 from the line in the last 2:47.
“We’re used to that kind of pressure, so it doesn’t faze us,” Snowden said. “So when we get that, it’s like ‘OK we got to do this, we got to do that,’ and then when we do that, it’s like (an) easy win.”
Sobolewski paced Jenkintown – which had a three-game win streak snapped – with 17 points, 14 coming in the second half. Andres Madden collected eight points.
“Our division is a very challenging. Every single night is a war. We didn’t come prepared for battle,” Emme said. “So, tomorrow luckily we get to bounce back. They’re very fortunate that they have a game tomorrow cause if it was practice, it would have be a different story.
Jenkintown hosts Wildwood 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Faith Christian is back on the court 7 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Christian.
Emme said the Drakes don’t shy away from playing up-tempo, but Friday night Faith Christian was going at a speed his squad just could not match.
“We like to play that way, but they were better at playing that way,” he said. “And that’s partly on me as a coach to understand that maybe we can’t go at that pace against these guys with their athleticism.”
Jenkintown had few answers for Snowden inside. The 6-5 junior scored eight points in the second quarter then collected 11 more in the third. He also made all five of his free throws.
Faith Christian went out to a 6-0 lead before a Sobolewski three and a Mike DiValentino bucket made it 6-5. But the Drakes did not score for the rest of the opening quarter and four straight points from Ozgur Ozguven and a Clark free throw had the Lions 11-5 heading to the second quarter.
A Coyle’s 3-pointer put Faith ahead 22-9. Madden’s bucket had the Drakes within 11 before the Lions ended the half on a 6-0 run – the first four points from Snowden before a Coyle basket in transition had FCA leading 28-11.
Sobolewski knocked down a triple to start scoring in the third, but Faith pushed its advantage to 21 when Snowden converted a three-point play to make it 39-18 at 5:50.
Snowden’s two free throws at 4:03 had Faith up 43-22 before Jenkintown collected seven of the next points. A Snowden bucket inside had the Lions leading 47-29 through three quarters.
Madden got to the foul line 25 seconds into the fourth and made both. John Contoudis’ basket made it 47-33 with four straight points by Sobolewski cut Jenkintown’s deficit to 10. Coyle and Snowden, however, both answered to put Faith’s lead at 14.
“We set ourselves back and that’s been the story of our season, is that we’ve been able to rally. We were down 17-3 to Plumstead (Christian). We were down 17-8 to Calvary (Christian). You know, Faith is a different story,” Emme said. “They were solid, they were strong with the ball, they didn’t turn the ball over, they weren’t affected by our pressure. So, that’s a credit to them and it’s always us, we have to execute.”
The Drakes’ Carl Robinson hit a jumper then made a layup off a steal to make it 53-43. After Coyle connected on two free throws at 4:11, Sobolewski drained a 3 to get Jenkintown within nine. But the visitors registered just two more points the rest of the way – two Jameson Kolb foul shots with 1:37 left.
