Stronger defense, ballhandling key Faith Lutheran in win over Sierra Vista

Jaylen Fox knew his team had committed too many turnovers and had given up too many good shots in the first half on Tuesday night, yet Faith Lutheran’s basketball team trailed by four points.

So when Fox and company tightened up those mistakes, it didn’t take long for the Crusaders to take over.

Faith Lutheran went on a 13-2 run early in the third quarter to take control and rolled to a 78-62 home win over Sierra Vista.

“After halftime we just decided we’ve got to pick it up,” Fox said. “We weren’t playing really good defense. So we decided to get down and play defense and we knew we were going to win.”

The Crusaders also did a much better job of taking care of the basketball. After 11 first-half turnovers, Faith Lutheran didn’t have a turnover in the third quarter and finished with 13.

“We knew that we had to cut out some of the turnovers,” Fox said. “Myself, I knew I had too many turnovers. Once we did that, I knew it would work out for us.”

Fox and Brevin Walter combined for 17 third-quarter points to spark the rally, including nine during the 13-2 run. Each finished with 22 points.

“We knew that us two would be the focal points of the offense,” Fox said. “Once we decided that we were going to get ourselves going, we knew that they couldn’t stop us.”

Faith Lutheran shot 10-for-16 in the third quarter and didn’t trail after Walter’s 3-pointer forged a 45-44 lead midway through the period.

“When the ball goes in the basket a little bit then your defense is set and then you take over the tempo of the game,” Faith Lutheran coach Bret Walter said. “And we had the tempo of the game at that point. And that’s when we made the little run, and we were able to keep making a few shots and keep the tempo on our side.”

Sierra Vista played without high-scoring senior guard Maka Ellis, who has committed to Columbia. Ellis hasn’t practiced since he was in a car accident on Nov. 18.

“He’s such a good player; he deserves so much respect,” Brett Walter said. “We game-planned for him. I think we had a little bit of a letdown to start the game. We had to fill up our energy, play a little better defense and pick up the effort. He’s great, and they’re going to be a good team with him healthy.”

Calvin Richards had 20 points and David Howard scored 18, including 16 in the first half, for Sierra Vista.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.