SWANNANOA - When life gives you lemons, take over first place in the conference anyway.
By the end of the night Wednesday, two Christ School starters had fouled out and a third never dressed due to sickness. The Greenies were whistled for 28 fouls and hurt their own cause by going 17-for-29 from the free throw line.
They still found a way to get out of Asheville Christian Academy with a 58-52 win.
USC Upstate recruit Jamari Briggs ’24 turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring half of his team-high 16 points. Keenan Wilkins ’24 (14 points), and Madden Collins ’25 (10) backed up Jamari in double figures, followed by Mikey Wilkins ’25 (seven points), Cole Boyer ’24 (six), Lleyton Thomas-Johnson ’24 (four), and Bruce White ’24 (one).
Christ School improves to 14-4 overall and 2-0 in the Carolinas Athletic Association.
“That was the main thing, we wanted to win,” Greenies coach Josh Coley said.
“We’ve got guys at home with the flu, guys on the bench who weren’t feeling well. But we competed. We didn’t expect it to be easy, a conference game on the road and our first game since (Dec. 30). These seven days of practice have been a little rough and they bounced back and competed. I expect us to be a little better, a little healthier for Friday night (at Rabun Gap).”
The Lions (11-7, 1-1) showed plenty of fight on their home court. The game was tied at 11-all at the end of the first quarter, and while the Greenies led by as many as 12 points in the second half, their advantage shrunk to as few as two.
Together, Christ School’s starters were called for 19 of the 28 fouls and had to adjust the way they played defense accordingly.
JV Greenies 65, Asheville Christian Academy 43
The JV Greenies had a much easier time Wednesday, controlling from start to finish their first game since Dec. 12.
Scorers for Christ School (4-3, 1-0) were Thomas Vickery ’27 (14 points), Henry Chapman ‘25 (13), Brody Ballard ‘25 (eight), Cooper Perone ‘25 (seven), Harrison White ’26 (five), Hunter Sanford ’25 (five), Drew Hykin ’26 (four), Caden Paradine ’25 (four), and Jayden White ’26 (three).