Faith turned defense into offense on the way to a seventh-place finish over Ethan during the Class B Boys’ State Basketball Tournament on Friday afternoon.

The Longhorns allowed just seven fourth-quarter points to pull away for a 75-56 win at Wachs Arena.

After leading by one point at halftime, Faith took control in the third period after making several adjustments at halftime.

“I thought we cleaned up the rebounds,” Faith coach Travis Grueb said. “We went one and done for them. They got no offensive rebounds. We got out in transition and we’ve been good at running in the open floor all year long. We get some three-point looks out of our transition stuff too, and we made a couple of defensive adjustments.”

Ethan coach Bryce Roth credited Faith for their execution in the second half.

“They made a lot of good shots. Some they were wide open, some were definitely contested,” Roth said. “If you’re not able to answer on the offensive end, you’re gonna struggle.”

Faith was able to execute Grueb’s halftime adjustments, as the Longhorns outrebounded Ethan 16-10 on the defensive boards, which resulted in transition baskets on the offensive end.

“We were getting a lot of defensive rebounds,” Faith guard Jackson Schauer said. “We were kicking them out and Caden Selby (was) hitting a lot of shots. We were just getting finally into our flow after a couple of games here.”

Schauer and Selby led the Longhorn attack, combining for 62 of Faith’s 75 points. The junior duo made key baskets in the second half, including each of them capitalizing on four-point plays to extend the Longhorn lead at critical times. Grueb commended the duo for their performances.

“Those two are bucket-getters,” Grueb said. “They’ve always been bucket-getters. We have a lot going forward for next year. They’re special kids. They’re gym rats, and they love to compete. They help this team out big time.”

The teams traded leads in the first half before Faith grabbed a 38-37 lead at the break. Grueb noted that both teams came out ready to play.

“They were hitting shots, we were hitting shots,” Grueb said. “It was a fun first half until both teams settled in. They tried to bring a little pressure. I thought it slowed us down. We got it figured out, so we were just kind of going back and forth. It was a good first half.”

Roth was also pleased with how his team executed in the first half.

“We were executing pretty well offensively. We were doing some better things on the boards defensively as well” Roth said. “We just were executing (on) both sides of the ball and I thought we kept things under control and we had a pretty level head in the first half.”

The game was tied at 40 with 5:51 left in the third quarter before Faith took control and pulled away for the win.

Schauer led Faith (23-3) with 36 points, including five 3-pointers. Selby had 26 points, while Rylan Palmer and Matthew Gray each had six points and six rebounds.

Grueb was grateful for his seven seniors and their impact on the program.

“We’ve got seven seniors and since they’ve been first and second graders (in) grade school basketball we’ve kind of had them pegged as a group that could be special (with) just the mindset and the type of kids they are. They all have different roles. Some of the seniors played all the minutes, some of the seniors played a couple, some sat on the bench, but they’re all a star in their role so they’re special.”

Ethan (20-6) was led by Kody Klumb with 20 points, while Drake Gustafson had 11 points. Riley Endres had 10 points and nine rebounds, while Logan Koch added seven points.

Roth also noted that his team loses a quality group of seniors.

“A great class. A great class that’s done great things in our town ever since they were in fifth grade,” Roth said. “Great influences on the community, great influences on the basketball program. It’s the toughest thing about this time of year is you’ve gotta say goodbye to those seniors, whether you end your game on a win or you end your game on a loss. They’ll be missed. A great bunch of kids, but they’ve also set the table for the kids coming up after them.”

ETHAN (20-6): Riley Endres 4 1-3 10, Kody Klumb 7 0-0 20, Taite Klumb 1 2-6 4, Wyatt Sinkie 0 4-4 4, Drake Gustafson 4 3-5 11, Logan Koch 3 0-0 7. Totals 19 10-18 56.

FAITH (23-3): Rylan Palmer 2 1-2 6, Matthew Gray 3 0-0 6, Caden Selby 11 1-1 26, Jackson Schauer 12 7-7 36, Waycee Nelson 0 1-2 1, Jess Harper 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 10-12 75.

Ethan 20 37 49 56

Faith 22 38 56 75

3-point field goals – Ethan 8-23 (Endres, K. Klumb 6, Koch); Faith 9-21 (Palmer, Selby 3, Schauer 5). Total fouls – Ethan 18; Faith 16. Rebounds – Ethan 27 (Endres 9); Faith 32 (Palmer 6, Gray 6, Nelson 6). Turnovers – Ethan 15; Faith 14. Assists – Ethan 13 (Endres 3, K. Klumb 3, Sinkie 3); Faith 15 (Palmer 6). Blocks – Ethan 1 (Sinkie); Faith 5 (Selby 4). Steals – Ethan 7 (Endres 3); Faith 5 (Gray 2).