TIGER, Ga. – Bryson Cokley ’24 dribbled out the final 30 seconds by himself at midcourt. The nearest referee put his hands on his hips and watched the clock tick down as well.
Eighteen days, and on top of it a two-hour drive, was a long time to wait for some redemption.
Christ School varsity basketball savored every second Tuesday night, and in all likelihood, claimed a piece of the Carolinas Athletic Association championship by beating Rabun Gap (Ga.), 65-49.
Keenan Wilkins ’24 enjoyed his best game as a Greenie yet with a game-high 31 points and shot 12-for-14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Jamari Briggs ’24 found a few holes in the Eagles’ defense as well with 17 points.
The Greenies (25-3, 5-2), Rabun Gap (20-6, 5-2), and Asheville School (15-5, 3-2) all have two losses in the CAA, but each has already played one another twice. That means that Christ School only needs to prevail in its last conference game – Feb. 8 at home against Carolina Day (11-13, 0-5) – to be a co-champion. It might be an outright championship if the Greenies hadn’t let one slip through their fingers on Jan. 13, when they blew a 16-point second half lead in a 57-55 home loss to Rabun Gap.
“We definitely came into this game thinking revenge and trying to get some face back after that last game,” Keenan said.
“We played hard, we played smart. You can’t ask for anything better.”
Coach Josh Coley experimented with several different combinations Tuesday night. Christ School was down by seven points in the third quarter when he inserted Matthew Pethel ’23 and Lleyton Thomas-Johnson ’24 into the game, largely for defensive purposes.
Coach Coley stuck with just three starters on the floor for the better part of the third and fourth quarters as Christ School finally got some traction. The team went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead after a 3-pointer by Emanuel Richards ’23 at the 2:54 mark of the third quarter.
The score was tied 42-all entering the fourth quarter.
“We gave up 77 points Friday (in a 77-70 loss at Asheville School) and that’s not who we are,” Coach Coley said.
“We talked about our defense having to travel. We challenged them to the point where we were either going to put up or shut up. This is special, it’s great for our four seniors and for our program. It’s great to get a road win on a night where it felt like everything was going against us. The boys stayed professional and I’m proud of them for that.”
Tuesday’s game was played on a neutral court at Rabun County (Ga.) High School as the Eagles’ floor was damaged in December by frozen water pipes.
The rest of the Greenie scorers were Emanuel (eight points), Lleyton (four), Bryson (three), and Anthony Robinson ’23 (two).
JV Greenies 63, Rabun Gap 36
Brewer Nitcher ’25 warmed up early with 10 of his 20 points in the first quarter and the JV Greenies (14-2) bounced back in a big way from Friday’s loss at Asheville School.
Will Sherrill ’25 was not far behind with 15 points and Calvin Williams ’24 had 13.
Christ School was comfortably ahead, 20-6 after the first quarter and 33-15 at the half. Wells Edwards ’25 scored five points, Henry Chapman ’25 and Brody Ballard ‘25 both had four and Jimmy Jones ‘25 scored two.
Middle School Greenies 39, Emanuel Lutheran 21
The Middle School team had the bare minimum of five available players Tuesday. It was enough.
Hoge Reynolds ’27 (13 points), Palo Miles ’27 (11), and Alec Dzialo ’27 (10) helped carry the team to a win, aided greatly by an 18-2 run in the third quarter. Jake Heimbough ’27 had three points and Tyler Melvin ’27 had two.