Red- hot Eagles winMetro title

FAITH CHR. 52, KENT DEN. 34

arvada » Basketball seasons can seem like they take a long time, and this one has for Faith Christian. Ask the Eagles. They began the season 1- 2, but also have given the current top team inThe Associated PressClass 3A media poll, Denver School of Science & Technology Stapleton, its only loss. And after Friday night’s 52- 34 victory over rivalKent Denver, they have clinched another Metropolitan League title.

Also, the Eagles havewon 11 games in succession.

Funny how these things work out.

“We started out the year pretty rough. We had a lot of tough games,” senior Gabriel Hegarty said after scoring a game- high 18 points. “But over Christmas break, we came together and really got the mental side of our game going. We always had the skill.”

The Eagles had to replace seven seniors but now appear in high gear. Ranked No. 2, they improved to 14- 4 overall and 8- 0 in theMetro.

There was a bit of a microcosm of their season evident at home against the Sun Devils ( 6- 11, 4- 3), including the late surge.

Pesky Kent Denver hung around into the fourth quarter before Hegarty scored eight of his 18 points and Jonathan Hardcastle added seven as the Eagles enjoyed a 21- 7 binge.

The Sun Devils ran out of steam and answers, but coach Todd Schayes’ guys have been overachieving after a turnover of projected frontliners moving or opting not to play.

“We did hang in there,” Schayes said. “Faith is a terrific team and very well coached. We have a lot of young guys who were not supposed to play varsity this year and we’re just trying to have some progress.”

The Eagles will be topseeded into their district field.

“We didn’t have a great game tonight,” Hegarty said, “but we don’t want to peak right now.”