Bulverde Bracken gets narrow win over Faith Academy
MARBLE FALLS — Turnovers and free throws allowed Bulverde Bracken to squeak past the Faith Academy boys basketball team Jan. 26, leading to a close 35-34 victory.
Flames head coach John Berkman said the contest came down to two factors.
"Turnovers and free throws," the Faith coach said. "You got to make free throws and can’t turn the ball over if you want to win the game."
Faith was 11 of 25 from the foul line and 12 turnovers for the contest.
Still, the game had plenty of excitement.
Trailing 35-32 with 28 seconds remaining against Bulverde Bracken, Faith Academy sophomore Reagan Vaughn drove to the basket, lowered his shoulder, took the contact and was fouled while making the layup.
"I told them … we had to score," Berkman said. "A lot times players think they have to get three in a hurry. We got what we wanted."
Though the free throw was missed, the Chargers didn’t fare much better, missing both attempts with 12 seconds left.
That left the door open.
The Flames (8-12, 3-4) rebounded the miss, ran to the opposite side and huddled around their coach during a timeout.
All five Flames touched the ball with a guard attempting the shot from the free throw line just before the horn sounded. It hit the front of the rim, allowing the Chargers to celebrate the victory.
"We felt like he got a good look at it," the coach said.
The Flames led throughout the first half,11-9 after the first quarter and 23-16 at the half.
But Bracken outscored Faith in the third and opened the final stanza with a 5-0 run to take a 27-26 lead.
After Berkman called a timeout, the Flames responded with a 6-0 run and looked to close out the contest in the final 67 seconds. Faith was called for a technical foul where the Chargers hit a side jumper from three feet away and a free throw to take a 34-32 lead that set up Vaughn’s heroics.
The loss means the Flames must win three of their final four games for a shot at the playoffs. The good news is three of those contests are at home.
"We have to work a whole lot harder," the coach said. "We have to beat Kerrville Our Lady of the Hills, Temple Holy Trinity and Cedar Park Summit. It’s not going to be an easy task."
In addition, the Flames have a short week. They will host Austin Waldorf 12:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at The Fire Pit on the Faith campus, three miles east of Marble Falls off RR 1431.
"We’ll just try to look past this game," Berkman said. "And try to emotionally get ready for (Jan. 28)."