ASHEVILLE - Carter Gym had been a house of horrors for Christ School’s senior class.
That can all be put in the past tense now thanks to the marksmanship of point guard Keenan Wilkins ’24. Keenan caught fire like only he can – knocking down a career-high seven 3-pointers in someone else’s gym Tuesday night. The Greenies needed every one of them to pull away from Asheville School, 68-49.
“Our senior class had never won here, so this is a special win for them,” Christ School coach Josh Coley said.
“Keenan is a special, special talent. He’s been in a slump. We haven’t said anything as a (coaching) staff. Tonight, he got out of the slump and thank God, because it made life a lot easier.”
Falling behind early and taking an underdog’s best shot has been a trend in the Carolinas Athletic Association for the Greenies (16-4, 4-0) and it persisted Tuesday. The undermanned Blues (2-11, 0-2) led by as many as nine points in the first quarter and were only behind one at halftime.
That’s when Keenan hit the afterburners.
Five of his 3-pointers came in the third and fourth quarters as the senior from Hendersonville, N.C., finished with a team-high 22 points. Christ School also got good production out of USC Upstate recruit Jamari Briggs ’24 (14 points), Mikey Wilkins ’25 (10), and George Mason recruit Bryson Cokley ’24 (eight).
Madden Collins ’25 (five points) made a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half to put the Greenies in front at the half, 27-26. Other scorers were Lleyton Thomas-Johnson ’24 (four points), T.J. Hamilton ’24 (three), and Jozohn Price ’24 (two).
“Asheville School-Christ School games are always going to be that way, no matter the records,” Coach Coley said.
“It was good for us to get hit in the mouth like that, but then show we’re battle-tested. We’ve been there before and done it. They weren’t rattled when we got down.”
Tuesday's win was Christ School's first at Asheville School in varsity basketball since the 2019-20 season (a 62-39 game that was played on Dec. 14, 2019).
JV Greenies 58, Asheville School 39
Thomas Vickery ‘27 scored 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half after the Greenies led by just five points midway through their sixth win of the season.
The rest of the scorers for Christ School (6-3, 3-0) were Jayden White ‘26 (10 points), Henry Chapman ‘25 (10), Cooper Perone ’25 (5), Brody Ballard ’25 (3), Jad Traboulsi ’25 (2), Drew Hykin ’26 (2), Alonzo Garcia Nunez ’26 (2), Buck Duggins ‘25 (2), and Harrison White ‘26 (1).