Faith Baptist Claims 1-A Title in Overtime

The Faith Baptist High basketball team is in need of a nickname overhaul.

The Contenders are no longer pretenders.

They are Southern Section 1-A Division champions after their 65-59 overtime victory Friday night over Brethren at Biola University.

Cinderella champions, to be sure, but champions nonetheless--the first in the school’s basketball history.

The third-place Delphic League playoff representative capped an improbable journey through the 1-A Division with a surprising victory. Faith Baptist won despite:

* Making just one field goal in nine attempts in the fourth period.

* Shooting 35% from the field in the second half and overtime.

* Eleven second-half turnovers.

* Being outscored, 12-6, in the final 3 minutes 23 seconds of regulation.

“Brethren didn’t crack. We had a 10-point lead and they stuck it right back at us,” Faith Baptist Coach Stuart Mason said.

Faith Baptist (19-10) stretched a 29-24 halftime lead to 45-35 after three periods as sophomore guard Alex Estrada scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter.

But things got sticky for the Contenders in the fourth period.

They missed their first seven shots and Brethren (19-9), which tied for fourth place in the Olympic League, came storming back to tie the score, 55-55, on two free throws by Chris Beck with 28 seconds left in regulation.

Faith Baptist’s Fernando Garcia got off a final shot, but it was partially blocked with one second remaining.

The Contenders fell behind in overtime, 59-57, and Estrada was fouled with 22 seconds to play.

He converted the first shot of a one-and-one situation but missed the second, and center Peter Rasmussen grabbed the rebound and dropped the ball into the hoop for a 60-59 Contender lead.

“That was the game, no question about it,” Mason said of Rasmussen’s play.