SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Christian is known for its length and athleticism, but the Knights ran into somebody who is even longer and more athletic on Thursday.

First Assembly Christian pulled away from a close game in the second quarter and picked up 56-40 non-conference boys’ basketball win during the Hoops City Classic at the Sanford Pentagon.

“We definitely met our match. We obviously got to watch them in person the night before,” said Knights coach David Rohrbach. “We knew we’d have our hands full just with how athletic they were and just how long. They were long and athletic at nearly every position.”

Knowing that FAC was capable of finishing at the rim, Rohrbach anticipated playing a zone defense. However, AC played man and forced the Tennessee squad to shoot from the perimeter.

While First Assembly made five three-pointers, they also attempted 27 of them.

“We wanted to pack it in and we wanted out contests and our closeouts to be more with our hands instead of running them off the line per se,” Rohrbach said. “We wanted them to shoot threes. If you’re going to give up something it has to be a contested three. That was kind of our game plan.”

The Knights overcame a shaky start to climb back into the game and trailed just 18-16 late in the second quarter before FAC scored the final 13 points of the period to take a 31-16 lead into halftime.

“We were doing alright and then turnovers killed us there. We got a little lax with the ball,” Rohrbach said. “We were moving pretty well and setting each other up and then our offense got a little stagnant and turnovers killed us. And then they’ll exploit turnovers in a second.”

Rohrbach said while the experience may not seem pleasant at the time, facing a squad like First Assembly and having to work and scratch for everything will actually benefit his team down the road.

“That’s so good for us, too,” Rohrbach said. “When things don’t come easy, it makes you realize what you have to work on and where you need to improve. Games like that are invaluable.”

Ethan Russell and Malek Wieker each scored 11 points to lead the Knights, now 4-2 on the season. Aberdeen Christian lost to White River on Tuesday during the classic.

“I told the guys in the locker room, we have to use these games to fuel us to get better,” Rohrbach said. “We’ll figure out what we did right and what we did wrong, and just make sure that we continue to get better.”

The Knights are off until playing at Oakes, N.D., on Saturday, Jan. 8.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN: Jackson Isakson 2 1-2 7, Ethan Russell 4 2-2 11, Malek Wieker 4 0-0 11, Kaden Clark 2 0-0 4, Abe Holscher 1 0-0 2, Konnar Furman 0 1-2 1, Blake Rich 2 0-0 4. Totals 15-35 4-6 40.

FIRST ASSEMBLY CHRISTIAN: Daniel Egbuniwe 5 0-0 11, Alex Harris 5 0-1 10, TJ Thomas 6 2-2 14, Rashaun Wise 3 0-0 8, Tyler Jones 0 2-2 2, Jacob Walker 0 1-2 1, Grant Spain 1 0-0 3, Kristopher Carrol 3 0-0 7. Totals 23-54 5-7 56.

Aberdeen Christian 9 16 26 40

First Assembly Christian 16 31 44 56

3-point field goals – Isakson 2, Russell, Wieker 3; Egbuniwe, Wise 2, Spain, Carroll. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 12; First Assembly Christian 10. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 21 (Wieker 5, Clark 5); First Assembly Christian 27 (Harris). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 18; First Assembly Christian 7. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 6 (Wieker 4); First Assembly Christian 14 (Egbuniwe 6). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 1; First Assembly Christian 10 (Egbuniwe 3, Thomas 3).