Foul Shots Lift Faith Baptist Into Delphic League Lead

Bad timing cost Bel-Air Prep its share of first place in the Delphic League on Thursday.

It wasn’t so much that the Bruins misfired on the court, where Faith Baptist made 13 consecutive free throws in the final 3 minutes to win, 71-62, at Harvard High. Rather, it was timing of a different sort that did them in.

The Bruins were forced to play without Ahmad Clayton and his 18-point scoring average after Clayton was suspended from the game for showing up 20 minutes late to a class, according to Coach Mike Whiting. But even without Clayton, Bel-Air Prep trailed by just 61-60 with 1:20 to play.

“Our guys showed a lot of class considering he was out,” Whiting said.

Faith Baptist took over the league lead at 7-2. Bel-Air Prep fell to 6-3.

Faith Baptist was missing its top player when the teams met 2 weeks ago. Jason Henderson sat out that contest, a Bel-Air Prep win, with an ankle injury. But the 6-10 center was a major factor Thursday, scoring a team-high 20 points and blocking 13 shots. Henderson also made 4 clutch free throws in the final minute.

Faith Baptist appeared to have the game in hand, leading by as many as 12 before taking a 59-49 advantage into the final period. Then the Contenders ran into turnover problems. Faith Baptist’s David Hairston threw the ball away twice in a 7-0 Bel-Air Prep run that trimmed the lead to 3 points late in the final period. “We got sloppy and started making bad passes,” Faith Baptist Coach Dean Lobdell said.

Although the Contenders held Gerald Hill, who made 5 3-point baskets, to a layup in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t control Jayson Plazola, who led Bel-Air Prep with a game-high 21 points.