Limiting the next-best team in the Carolinas Athletic Association to 34 points Thursday came down to a matter of “care” for Christ School basketball.
The Greenies hounded the ball relentlessly in their first home game of 2025. Everything they caused with their defense turned into offense.
Five players reached double figures and an 11-0 lead to start turned into an 85-34 blowout of Asheville Christian Academy.
Scorers for Christ School (14-0, 2-0) in the team’s 23rd consecutive win were: Madden Collins ’25 (18 points), Dacen Petty ’26 (16), Mikey Wilkins ’25 (13), Tyler Jones ’26 (13), Mason Collins ’28 (12), Thomas Vickery ’27 (six), William Robinson ’26 (four), and Henry Chapman ’25 (three).
The Greenies had all the points they needed by halftime – the score was 40-20 at the break – and kept coming at the Lions (9-4, 1-1) in waves after that. The fourth quarter was played completely with a running clock.
“We’ve been on them since we came back (from Christmas Break) with really hard practices, even hard day before the game practices,” Christ School coach Josh Coley said.
“It’s been very tough, competition-driven. The theme has been ‘care.’ We want you to care, not just for your teammates and for yourself and your own individual development and growth. But also for our team. Care. If you miss a defensive assignment, care about it. Let us see that you missed it because your teammates are picking up the slack. So, if they don’t think you care, then what message are we sending? So, that’s been huge for us. And they cared tonight. I thought defensively, we cared. It mattered. And when guys didn’t do what they were supposed to do, guys held them accountable. They did what they were supposed to do. Defensively, we were great. It allowed our offense to get in rhythm and catch a flow. Our first goal every year is always to win the conference. So, to be 2-0 in a really good conference, we couldn’t really ask for anything more.”
The Greenies left Friday morning for this weekend’s Capitol Hoops Challenge at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md. Games for Christ School are Saturday vs. Saint Paul VI at 5 p.m. and Sunday vs. Mt. Zion at 2 p.m.
The Saint Paul VI game is being televised regionally on the Monumental Sports Network.
Christ School is home next week for CAA games with Rabun Gap (Tuesday) and Asheville School (Friday), with both scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m.