Water seeping out of the Christ School locker room and into the hallway told the story Thursday night – order has been restored to Carolinas Athletic Association basketball.
The players got a little carried away with celebrating an 8-0 march through the conference – but who could blame them?
No Greenie team has made it through unscathed since the 2015-16 season, and prior to that, Christ School didn’t lose a CAA game between 2002 and 2013.
The glory days may be back, considering the team won its conference games by an average of 31.5 points this winter, including Thursday’s capper to it all – a 83-45 game with Asheville School that was never close.
The Blues (4-13, 2-4) called their first timeout just 49 seconds in after falling behind 5-0.
Mikey Wilkins ’25 poured in a game-high 21 points – his 3-pointer from the top of the arc triggered the early Asheville School timeout. The rest of the scoring for the Greenies (22-5, 8-0) came from George Mason recruit Bryson Cokley ’24 (11 points), USC Upstate recruit Jamari Briggs ’24 (11), Keenan Wilkins ‘24 (10), Mason Collins ‘28 (nine), Lleyton Thomas-Johnson ‘24 (eight), T.J. Hamilton ’24 (six), Madden Collins ’25 (four), Bruce White ’24 (two), and Calvin Williams ’24 (one).
Christ School coach Josh Coley was wet, but happy with what he saw for all four quarters. The Greenies are now 10-0 at home this season.
“We needed that. The boys were ready to play,” Coach Coley said.
“We’d had really good games leading up to this and they carried it over. Tuesday night (in a 69-39 win over Rabun Gap), we didn’t make shots. But the defense was there, the energy was there, we just didn’t make shots. Tonight, we made them and it just looks different. For the seniors to beat Asheville School, that’s an emotional time for them. They can say that they didn’t lose to Asheville School their senior year and that means something.”
Back when the teams first met on Jan. 16, the Greenies dug themselves a nine-point hole in the first quarter and trailed 27-26 at halftime. They eventually rallied for a 68-49 win at Asheville School, but there was none of that drama needed on Thursday.
Christ School stacked up a 28-15 lead after the first quarter and was up 43-22 at halftime. Mikey had 17 of his points by then. Overall, the team played a clean game with only one player being whistled for more than two fouls.
The Greenies head into Winter Break – which starts Friday at 12:05 p.m. – knowing they only have one more home game (Feb. 9 vs. the South Charlotte Thunder) before the start of the NCISAA 4-A state playoffs.
“The guys recognize the moment,” Coach Coley said.
“Our seniors have taken leadership stances, which is good, and they are demanding a lot from the guys in practice. Because of that, it’s showing on the floor. We’ve allowed them to play and held them accountable for the tough stuff. They’ve responded consistently. We couldn’t be in a better place in terms of playing well. We’ll have to regenerate all this next week, but it’s the perfect time for a break and to recalibrate.”
JV Greenies 56, Asheville School 32
Henry Chapman ’25 and the JV Greenies sawed through Asheville School in their final conference game as well.
The junior from Asheville led Christ School (9-4, 5-1) with 15 points. Additional scorers were Jayden White ‘26 (10), Thomas Vickery ‘27 (nine), Drew Hykin ‘26 (five), Caden Paradine ’25 (four), Hunter Sanford ’25 (four), Brody Ballard ‘25 (three), Buck Duggins ‘25 (two), Alonzo Garcia Nunez ‘26 (two), and Jad Traboulsi ‘25 (two).