Faith prevails: Owens pours in 27 points to lead Lions past C-ville
JACKSONVILLE — The manic Kaleb Owens you witness on a basketball court is much different than the mild-mannered young man you meet off it. Owens has the ability to turn it off and on and just as quickly leaves defenders in the dust with a hesitation or stutter-step move before darting through the lane on a die-hard drive to the basket. The senior Faith Christian point guard's catch-me-if-you-can quickness played a big role in the Lions' 74-66 victory over Collinsville in the AHSAA Northeast Regional semifinals at Pete Mathews Coliseum Tuesday night.
One second he was standing motionless clutching the basketball at the top of the key. The next he was pirouetting through the air and finishing strong at the cup for two of his game-high 27 points. "He's the general out there," said Faith coach Doug Worsley. "He leads our team and we don't try to hide that. If you watch us for three minutes, you can see that. He brings that decisiveness to our team." Speed kills and Owens' motor murdered the Panthers, who tried valiantly to get back late in the game but couldn't corner the 5-foot-10 Owens. He weaved in and out of their full court pressure defense as it were a mere cone drill, and then got to the free throw line. "Whenever we tried to trap, he's so quick we couldn't get him corralled," said Collinsville coach Donny Jones. "The biggest difference in the game was him at the free-throw line. He went 13 for 16 in an eight-point game. He got himself to the free-throw line and knocked them down." Owens played all but one minute in the game and got plenty of help from his friends as a trio of Lions finished in double figures. Center Todd Shomber recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and snatching 12 rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks. Shomber's low-post mate, power forward Ethan Pullman, snagged five rebounds, while small forward Bryan Taylor added 11 points. Phil Hernandez added 18 and Paden Sharpe scored 11 for Collinsville. With the win, Faith (26-4) advances to Friday's regional final where they'll face Holy Family at 2 p.m. The Tornadoes (14-14) defeated Spring Garden 71-58 in the other semifinal to earn their right to play for a spot in the Final Four at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center next week. Faith prevailed in a game that had somewhat of a seesaw effect. The Lions led by as many as 13 twice, despite a dogged effort by Collinsville (16-11) in the second half. An 8-2 run in the final 2:09 of the third quarter, capped off by three-point play by Collinsville's Robert Gray made it 53-48 with 2.4 seconds to play in the third. Gray finished with 25 points. But the Lions roared back at the start of the fourth with eight unanswered points in the first minute and a half to gain a comfortable enough cushion to coast to victory. "It was very frustrating," Worsley said of the several missed opportunities to put the Panthers away early. "But that's what you expect at the regionals. There are no bad teams here. All the cupcakes were left on your schedule in January." The Lions are gelling at the right time of year with Owens back in the lineup for the playoff run after missing several games with a broken metacarpal bone is his non-shooting hand. "When I'm the court, I'm really in a zone," Owens said. "I'm just really focused and try to play up-tempo and keep it high-energy because I know that carries over." Maybe all the way over to Birmingham. |
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