Ludowici’s Faith Baptist Christian Academy boys’ basketball team finished third in the 2012 National Association of Christian Athletes Elite program tournament in Dayton, Tenn.
The boys edged out Covenant Christian in the consolation game Friday morning, 63-55. It was the third time the Crusaders faced Covenant this season. In the earlier games, the Crusaders won.
During the tournament, Covenant was determined to topple the Faith boys and took an early 9-6 lead.
The Ludowici boys went on a quick run, but Covenant answered by drawing a foul and hitting 2-of-2. Both teams went back and forth.
With six minutes left before the half, Covenant was able to tie at 15. Covenant drew another foul, but failed to convert at the line, giving Crusader JJ Frazier an opportunity to run the court and drop in a one-hander.
Crusader Jaquez Motley found Mike Merritt open in the lane, Kirk Hill went 2-of-2 at the line. Frazier grabbed a steal, a put back and hit a three-pointer from the corner and Hill followed with another one from downtown to give the Ludowici boys a 30-20 lead going into intermission.
The Crusader continued a relentless attack in the third quarter, sinking two slam-dunks, two trey shots and a series of layups to take a 42-28 lead.
But Covenant Christian kept chipping away and found the bucket, making it a four-point game with 1:09 left in regulation. As time dwindled, Frazier drew a foul, went to the line and sank two to go up 61-55 with 26.4 seconds left. A few seconds later Frazier was fouled again and he sank both free throws for the 63-55 win.
The tournament started on Wednesday with FBCA beating Global Prep 74-48. The boys ended up in the consolation bracket after suffering an 87-65 loss to Queen City Prep on Thursday in the second round.
The Crusaders were the NACA Division IV National Champions in 2010. They finished the season 26-8 overall.