Colts prove their worth, rout Knights
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM; 252-436-2840
The 10th-seeded Crossroads Christian boys’ basketball squad hosted 15th-seeded Hickory Christian Academy (13-9) in the first round of the 1A NCISAA State Playoffs Tuesday evening, cruising past the visiting Knights 83-43 to advance to the second round. The Colts (21-5) will travel to Erwin to face seventh-seeded Cape Fear Christian Academy (18-14) on Thursday with a bid to the state quarterfinals on the line.
Colts’ head coach Lamont Whitaker wasn’t the only one surprised when his squad only received the 10th seed in the state playoffs after posting an outstanding 18-4 record during the regular season. Whitaker’s players took it as disrespectful and are now on a mission to prove just how talented they are, with phase one of that mission being completed Tuesday night.
“It was completely disrespectful,” Whitaker said. “This team has worked their tails off all year. We’ve played some good opponents, gone into some places where we shouldn’t have won and won, and lost some games we shouldn’t have lost. But the tenth seed is totally disrespectful. All nine of our guys have a chip on their shoulder, 10 if you count me, and everywhere we go, we’re going to be playing with relentless energy like we did tonight.”
The Colts (21-5) struggled over the first few minutes of regulation, trailing Hickory Christian 5-0 with 5:55 remaining in the first quarter. Crossroads caught fire in a hurry, however, promptly executing an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to take the lead once and for all.
The Knights quickly responded with a bucket of their own, cutting the Colts’ advantage down to 11-9, but Crossroads finished the quarter out strong on both ends of the court. Colts’ big man Johnathan Pearsall (15 pts) came up with some crucial offensive rebounds to provide his squad with second chance opportunities, while Ghage Kenan (14 pts) connected with Brody Steffenson (4 pts) for a wide open layup to give Crossroads a 19-10 lead heading into the second quarter.
“Johnathan [Pearsall] gave us a lot of energy,” Whitaker said. “A lot of guys in the locker room are still feeling the effects of not closing out Rocky Mount [Academy] the way that we should have. Rebounding was the main thing I challenged them on once we got back into the gym. We have a tough group of guys and hitting the boards was our first, second and third priority heading into this game. We thought if we could control the boards then we would have our way tonight and we did.”
The Knights provided their fans with some hope by scoring the first four points of the quarter to cut the Colts’ lead down to five points, but that’s the closest the score would get for the remainder of the contest. Kenan and Zaire Edwards (20 pts) combined for seven-straight points to extend the Colts’ advantage to double-digits, before Tyler O’Steen (9 pts) came off the bench and put the nail in the Knights’ coffin.
O’Steen was completely dialed in from long distance, draining three jumpers from beyond the arc over the final four minutes as the Colts finished the first half on a dominant 17-6 run. It was obvious everything was going right for the Colts, especially when Makiyah Jones (10 pts) passed the ball to a wide open Pearsall, who converted a layup right as the buzzer sounded to give his squad a commanding 43-22 advantage heading into the locker room at the half.
“That was very huge because Tyler [O’Steen] has been in a little bit of a slump lately,” Whitaker said. “We’ve been texting back and forth, and I told him that I don’t care about his slump and that he has the green light to shoot every time he gets the ball. The only way for a shooter to come out of a slump is to keep shooting.”
The Colts maintained their fast-paced attack after the break, while also completely shutting down the Knights’ offense. Edwards, Steffenson and Pearsall did a terrific job of protecting the rim for Crossroads, making Hickory Christian work hard for every single point.
The approach worked like a charm as the Colts outscored the Knights 23-6 during the third quarter, taking complete control of the game as they headed into the final quarter with an extremely comfortable 66-28 advantage.
Dwayne Macon (7 pts), Connor Bryant (2 pts) and Tyler Logan (2 pts) also contributed for Crossroads. Senior Lance Cook led the Knights with 15 points, while sophomore Andy Cook (11 pts) also reached double figures for Hickory Christian.
The tenth-seeded Colts (21-5) will travel to Erwin to face seventh-seeded Cape Fear Christian Academy (18-14) on Thursday in the second round of the 1A NCISAA State Playoffs with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line
BY RYAN LEGER
RLEGER@HENDERSONDISPATCH.COM; 252-436-2840
The 10th-seeded Crossroads Christian boys’ basketball squad hosted 15th-seeded Hickory Christian Academy (13-9) in the first round of the 1A NCISAA State Playoffs Tuesday evening, cruising past the visiting Knights 83-43 to advance to the second round. The Colts (21-5) will travel to Erwin to face seventh-seeded Cape Fear Christian Academy (18-14) on Thursday with a bid to the state quarterfinals on the line.
Colts’ head coach Lamont Whitaker wasn’t the only one surprised when his squad only received the 10th seed in the state playoffs after posting an outstanding 18-4 record during the regular season. Whitaker’s players took it as disrespectful and are now on a mission to prove just how talented they are, with phase one of that mission being completed Tuesday night.
“It was completely disrespectful,” Whitaker said. “This team has worked their tails off all year. We’ve played some good opponents, gone into some places where we shouldn’t have won and won, and lost some games we shouldn’t have lost. But the tenth seed is totally disrespectful. All nine of our guys have a chip on their shoulder, 10 if you count me, and everywhere we go, we’re going to be playing with relentless energy like we did tonight.”
The Colts (21-5) struggled over the first few minutes of regulation, trailing Hickory Christian 5-0 with 5:55 remaining in the first quarter. Crossroads caught fire in a hurry, however, promptly executing an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to take the lead once and for all.
The Knights quickly responded with a bucket of their own, cutting the Colts’ advantage down to 11-9, but Crossroads finished the quarter out strong on both ends of the court. Colts’ big man Johnathan Pearsall (15 pts) came up with some crucial offensive rebounds to provide his squad with second chance opportunities, while Ghage Kenan (14 pts) connected with Brody Steffenson (4 pts) for a wide open layup to give Crossroads a 19-10 lead heading into the second quarter.
“Johnathan [Pearsall] gave us a lot of energy,” Whitaker said. “A lot of guys in the locker room are still feeling the effects of not closing out Rocky Mount [Academy] the way that we should have. Rebounding was the main thing I challenged them on once we got back into the gym. We have a tough group of guys and hitting the boards was our first, second and third priority heading into this game. We thought if we could control the boards then we would have our way tonight and we did.”
The Knights provided their fans with some hope by scoring the first four points of the quarter to cut the Colts’ lead down to five points, but that’s the closest the score would get for the remainder of the contest. Kenan and Zaire Edwards (20 pts) combined for seven-straight points to extend the Colts’ advantage to double-digits, before Tyler O’Steen (9 pts) came off the bench and put the nail in the Knights’ coffin.
O’Steen was completely dialed in from long distance, draining three jumpers from beyond the arc over the final four minutes as the Colts finished the first half on a dominant 17-6 run. It was obvious everything was going right for the Colts, especially when Makiyah Jones (10 pts) passed the ball to a wide open Pearsall, who converted a layup right as the buzzer sounded to give his squad a commanding 43-22 advantage heading into the locker room at the half.
“That was very huge because Tyler [O’Steen] has been in a little bit of a slump lately,” Whitaker said. “We’ve been texting back and forth, and I told him that I don’t care about his slump and that he has the green light to shoot every time he gets the ball. The only way for a shooter to come out of a slump is to keep shooting.”
The Colts maintained their fast-paced attack after the break, while also completely shutting down the Knights’ offense. Edwards, Steffenson and Pearsall did a terrific job of protecting the rim for Crossroads, making Hickory Christian work hard for every single point.
The approach worked like a charm as the Colts outscored the Knights 23-6 during the third quarter, taking complete control of the game as they headed into the final quarter with an extremely comfortable 66-28 advantage.
Dwayne Macon (7 pts), Connor Bryant (2 pts) and Tyler Logan (2 pts) also contributed for Crossroads. Senior Lance Cook led the Knights with 15 points, while sophomore Andy Cook (11 pts) also reached double figures for Hickory Christian.
The tenth-seeded Colts (21-5) will travel to Erwin to face seventh-seeded Cape Fear Christian Academy (18-14) on Thursday in the second round of the 1A NCISAA State Playoffs with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line
