Where there was a Wilkins, there was a way Tuesday night.
Cousins Keenan Wilkins ’24 and Mikey Wilkins ’25 always talked about what it would be like to be high school teammates. Christ School varsity basketball happens to be the benefactor of this long-awaited family reunion.
Keenan (20 points) and Mikey (18) came up with one big basket after another Tuesday and carried the Greenies past visiting Gaston Christian, 63-58, in a season-opening game between two of the top teams in the NCISAA.
Bryson Cokley ’24 added 10 points, Jamari Briggs ’24 had nine, followed by Lleyton Thomas-Johnson ’24 with four, and Cole Boyer ’24 with two.
Christ School (1-0) was up 30-27 at the half and the Greenies led by as many as nine. Mikey scored 10 of his points in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-8, 250-pound junior from Rutherfordton, N.C., was the only real post presence that Christ School had due to players who are still involved with football. Tuesday’s game was the first for Mikey in a Greenie uniform, while Keenan was the point guard for last year’s state championship team.
“It was a little nerve-racking (at the beginning of the game),” Mikey said.
“But once I got going, the crowd got hyped, and it was on from there. We were just out there having fun, mainly focused on playing great defense.”
Keenan knocked down three 3-pointers and Bryson made two. A putback dunk by Bryson was the final field goal of the first half.
All things considered, head coach Josh Coley was pleased with the effort from his slightly-undermanned team.
“I thought we punched back. I thought we punched first, and then we punched back throughout the course of the game when it mattered,” Coach Coley said.
“We’re missing some guys from the football team, so we’re not deep. But I thought they dug deep, showed some grit, and showed some fight. We didn’t make free throws… I could probably go down the list of things we didn’t do tonight, but we found a way to win.”
The Greenies are back home Friday against Legacy Early College (S.C.), but then will be on the road until Dec. 5. Included in that stretch are four games at neutral sites against some of the stronger teams from the Charlotte area.
Christ School was the state’s No. 1 team in the season’s first Sweet 16 NCISAA rankings from Phenom Hoop Report, while Gaston Christian (0-1) was ranked fifth. The Eagles are coached by former Duke University player Chris Duhon.
“It’s not going to be how we start this season. I want to see how we finish,” Coach Coley said.
“We have a lot of seniors and underclassmen who are really good players. It’s important to make memories every year, things they can talk about when they’re 35. I think that’s just as important as winning games and getting deep into the tournament is just giving them a chance to be kids.”