Fellowship Christian School
MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS8th Grade Boys Basketball - Season Highlights
 NAML Tournament - Consolation February 4 FCS 43 St Francis 38 The Paladins took to the court Saturday at Mt. Vernon for the NAML consolation game. After falling short against Pinecrest in the semi-finals, Fellowship looked to bounce back and end the season with a win. The Paladins had lost to St. francis twice in the regular season, but the team was confident going into this contest.. They got out to a hot start and took a 13 point lead at the half. St. Francis fought back with a little help from some Paladin turnovers, and cut the lead to 3 at one point. The Paladins played great man defense throughout the game, and rebounded the ball well. That proved to be the difference. The Paladins kept their composure and held on to win 43-38. The boys never trailed in the game. It was a great effort and a great way to end the season. Coach Welty was very proud of the 17 guys on the team and said, "They are a great group of guys, and really, the fact that we did as well as we did is a compliment to them. With 17 guys there could be a lot of discontent over playing time, etc, but these guys had great attitudes and worked hard throughout the year. I am very glad that I had the opportunity to coach each one of them, and I am proud to be their coach." NAML Tournament - Semi-finals February 2 FCS 43 Pinecrest 53 Fellowship lost to Pinecrest in the semi-finals 43-53. It was a great effort and the FCS Paladins just got beat by a very hot shooting team. Pinecrest made big shot after big shot. The Pinecrest team took advantage of mistakes from FCS and made the most of them. Coach Welty was proud of the effort and felt that they just got outplayed on this day by a very good team. The boys look to bounce back in the consolation game vs. St. Francis. NAML Tournament - 1st Round January 31 FCS 46 Mt Pisgah 40 The FCS 8th grade Paladins defeated Mt. Pisgah in the first round of the NAML playoffs. It was a great game between to evenly matched teams. The Paladins did not start out very well on the rebounding end and gave up 10 offensive rebounds to the Patriots. They also struggled to take care of the ball and committed 11 turnovers in the first half. Despite that, they played well enough to only trail 19-20 at halftime. Fellowship made some adjustments at half, and came out more focused. The Paladins kept Pisgah off the offensive glass and reduced the turnovers, resulting in a 5 point lead going into the 4th. Pisgah was able to hang around by hitting 5 three’s on the night, but the Paladins continued their solid play in the 4th and pulled out the 46-40 victory. Fellowship will travel to Thursday for the NAML semi-finals. Game time is set for 5:15 pm. January 26 FCS 37 Crown Athletic 34 (OT) The 8th grade boys beat Crown Athletic in overtime 37-34. It was a great game that saw 11 different Paladins score, led by Reed Kroeber’s 9 points and Tyler Matthesen’s 6 points. FCS trailed by 2 with under 18 seconds to go. Coach Welty drew up a play that was meant for a 2, but before the team broke the huddle Coach told the boys if the 3 was open to knock it down. The team went out and executed the play perfectly. Torrin Murphy set a great screen to free up Tyler in the corner, and Tyler did not hesitate. He lined it up and let the shot fly. Nothing but net, and a foul. “That is a little unusual to do, but I just had a feeling, and Tyler came through in a huge way," said Coach Welty. Tyler stepped to the line and completed the 4 point play. On the ensuing possession, the Paladins were called for a foul that sent the Knights to the line with 2 seconds left, down by 2. The Knights missed the free-throws, but were able to get the rebound and score as time expired. The Paladins stayed focused, did not get down, and seized the momentum early in the overtime to hang on for the win. Ben Kimsey led the team in rebounding with 7. Fellowship enters the NAML tournament as the 2 seed and will play their first round game at FCS January 31 at 6:30. December 7 FCS 51 Mt Vernon 30 The Paladins came out with great intensity and effort as they visited the Mt Vernon Mustangs for their 5th game of the season. Fellowship led 12-2 at the end of the first quarter behind great offensive execution, but unfortunately the Paladins did miss on a number of good looks at the basket. However, that did not deter their effort on the defensive end. The final score was 51-30. It was a great team effort that saw all 17 players see action. They will look to continue their winning ways next at Walker. November 17 FCS 41 Pinecrest 46 It was the battle of the Paladins as Fellowship traveled to Pinecrest. A very tough game between 2 evenly matched teams proved to be an exciting, close game until the final buzzer with neither team ever able to take full control. FCS fought hard, but trailed by 9 in the 4th quarter after a run by Pinecrest. Coach Welty called a timeout to discuss strategy, and the team came out and executed what needed to be done. That fierce run by FCS pulled the Paladins to within 1 point with 12 seconds left in the game.a FCS pressed the ball, but a foul was called and Pinecrest nailed the 2 free-throws to take a 3 point lead with 8 seconds left in the game. FCS drew up a final play, but it was not to be. Forced to foul again, Pinecrest made their 2 shots to secure the 46-41 victory. November 15
FCS 30 Mt Vernon 20 The Paladins opened the season against the Mt. Vernon Mustangs. FCS looked good early as they jumped out to a 10-2 first quarter lead. However the rust began to show some in the 2nd quarter and the Paladins went into the half with only a 12-9 lead. The 2nd quarter included some great passing on offense, but the team missed many open layups. The 2nd half was a different story as the Paladins picked up their defense and converted most of the opportunities. They took a 25-12 lead into the 4th. The Paladins again missed some very good opportunities, but they continued to fight and held on for the 30-20 win. It was a good first game that the team will look to build upon. Photo Gallery
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