Christ School coach Josh Coley wore his big-game suit Friday night and the Greenies played up to that standard.
Keenan Wilkins ’24 lit up Legacy Early College (S.C.) for 24 points, Mikey Wilkins ’25 added 16 points, and Lleyton Thomas-Johnson ’24 had 12 in a 69-58 home win that should reverberate regionally and nationally.
Legacy (0-1) is a Greenville, S.C., program that plays in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) with the likes of Oak Hill (Va.) and the IMG Academy (Fla.). The Lions had beaten the Greenies five straight times by an average of 17.4 points, though Friday’s game was the first meeting between the schools since the 2019-20 season.
Coach Coley was laughing after the game because he was wearing the same suit he had on for last February’s NCISAA 4-A championship game. He hadn’t worn it since.
“It was a good one. We wanted to test ourselves early. In games like this when you’re playing a team like them, the margin for error is very slim,” Coach Coley said.
“We stayed on the line. We toed the line, but we never crossed it. I’m very proud of our fight. The boys were engaged all week and it helped a tremendous amount. Their engagement and attention to detail on the scouting report plus we were very tough on our bench after the last game (Tuesday’s 63-58 home win over Gaston Christian) just from a spirit standpoint, and I thought it all worked out.”
Keenan is the scoring leader for the Greenies (2-0) after two games with a 22.5 average and was sensational again Friday, giving out five assists. Mikey led the team with eight rebounds and Lleyton blocked two shots, one of which led to a breakaway dunk late in the third quarter that sent the student section into a tizzy.
Christ School was only up 58-56 with 1:06 to go, but able to hold on from the foul line. Mikey (four) and Keenan (three) combined for seven 3-pointers, while Bryson Cokley ’24 (nine points) and USC Upstate recruit Jamari Briggs ’24 (eight points) had three assists each.
The next game for Christ School is Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Charlotte’s Victory Christian.