CROSSROADS CLINCHES
Ryan Ledger---HENDERSON DAILY DISPATCH
The Colts went into their Senior Night matchup against conference foe Oakwood Thursday evening with a lot at stake. If Crossroads (19-8, 9-1) emerged victorious they would officially be in the 1A State Playoffs, and the Colts sure didn’t leave their fans disappointed.
Crossroads coasted to a 67-47 victory over Oakwood, who is 7-2 in conference play, led by senior Jeremiah Green (18 points), Dwayne Macon (12 points) and Ghage Kenan (11 points). Colts’ coach Joseph Cooper was ecstatic after the victory, but also emotional about senior night at the same time. Cooper has formed a very strong bond with all of his players, including seniors Jack Ketcham (3 points) and Luke Ellis.
“I have coached Luke and Jack since they were freshmen here and have coached Jeremiah the past two seasons,” Cooper said. “Senior Night truly is a roller-coaster of emotions and these guys have been here for this program through thick and thin. We have had our ups and downs and struggles along the way, but it was all worth it. This group of seniors (Jack Ketcham, Luke Ellis and Jeremiah Green) has now been to the state playoffs in back to back seasons and it’s hard to put into words the contributions that they’ve made to this program and school. I couldn’t be prouder of being each one of their coaches.”
Crossroads built a 37-27 lead by halftime, however, the Colts just weren’t playing their typical brand of basketball. Cooper talked to his squad at the half and they responded well to their coach as they usually do, grabbing the momentum out of the gate in order to cruise to an easy victory.
“In the second half we finally started getting hands on balls, fingers on balls and were able to force some turnovers,”
RYAN LEGER / Dispatch staff
The Colts’ Grace Ellis finishes off a fast-break with a bucket during their matchup with conference foe Oakwood Thursday night
FROM PAGE B1
(2 points) and Ashton Hayes were both honored before the game and performed well on Senior Night.
Tracy Anderson, who’s daughter Kelcee is a freshman on the team, said that being able to coach her daughter definitely factored in to her decision to take the job.
“I was perfectly content sitting back and letting someone else coach. but it is really nice to be all together and have bonding time with her,” Anderson said.
The Colts will be back in action on Tuesday as they face St. Thomas More in the first round of the 1A Carolina Independent Conference tournament, which will be held at Crossroads Christian School in Henderson.
“The last time we played them we only lost by seven but were also missing a key player,” Anderson said. “Considering the intensity that the girls have been playing with the past few weeks I am anticipating that we will be successful on Tuesday and move on to the next round on Friday. It also really helps that the tournament will be held here this year.”
COLTS
said. “This allowed us to get out in transition and really push the pace, which opened things up a little bit. The kind of game we want is that up and down, fast-paced style because those are our strengths and of course we want to play to them.”
Makiyah Jones (5 points), Tyler O’Steen (6 points) and Zaire Edwards (8 points) were a crucial piece of this defensive transformation in the second half, along with Green, Macon and Kenan. The Colts have a lot of speed and they know how to utilize it, which should make them extremely dangerous come playoff time.
The excitement on Cooper’s face after the contest was obvious and he said that he probably wouldn’t get much sleep.
“I just think back to the summer and all the hard work that has gone into getting us to this position and it feels nice,” Cooper said. “It’s a long process. As soon as last year ended we immediately started working on getting back to the playoffs and we are hoping to do some damage this year.”
The Colts will also have the honor of hosting the 1A Carolina Independent Conference tournament this season, which begins on Tuesday. Crossroads only hosts the tournament once every eight seasons and this year seems like destiny. The Colts will face Epiphany in the first round and should move on to the second round Friday.
“We are thrilled to be hosting the tournament this season and hopefully we can make a deep run in that as well,” Cooper said.
Ryan Ledger---HENDERSON DAILY DISPATCH
The Colts went into their Senior Night matchup against conference foe Oakwood Thursday evening with a lot at stake. If Crossroads (19-8, 9-1) emerged victorious they would officially be in the 1A State Playoffs, and the Colts sure didn’t leave their fans disappointed.
Crossroads coasted to a 67-47 victory over Oakwood, who is 7-2 in conference play, led by senior Jeremiah Green (18 points), Dwayne Macon (12 points) and Ghage Kenan (11 points). Colts’ coach Joseph Cooper was ecstatic after the victory, but also emotional about senior night at the same time. Cooper has formed a very strong bond with all of his players, including seniors Jack Ketcham (3 points) and Luke Ellis.
“I have coached Luke and Jack since they were freshmen here and have coached Jeremiah the past two seasons,” Cooper said. “Senior Night truly is a roller-coaster of emotions and these guys have been here for this program through thick and thin. We have had our ups and downs and struggles along the way, but it was all worth it. This group of seniors (Jack Ketcham, Luke Ellis and Jeremiah Green) has now been to the state playoffs in back to back seasons and it’s hard to put into words the contributions that they’ve made to this program and school. I couldn’t be prouder of being each one of their coaches.”
Crossroads built a 37-27 lead by halftime, however, the Colts just weren’t playing their typical brand of basketball. Cooper talked to his squad at the half and they responded well to their coach as they usually do, grabbing the momentum out of the gate in order to cruise to an easy victory.
“In the second half we finally started getting hands on balls, fingers on balls and were able to force some turnovers,”
RYAN LEGER / Dispatch staff
The Colts’ Grace Ellis finishes off a fast-break with a bucket during their matchup with conference foe Oakwood Thursday night
FROM PAGE B1
(2 points) and Ashton Hayes were both honored before the game and performed well on Senior Night.
Tracy Anderson, who’s daughter Kelcee is a freshman on the team, said that being able to coach her daughter definitely factored in to her decision to take the job.
“I was perfectly content sitting back and letting someone else coach. but it is really nice to be all together and have bonding time with her,” Anderson said.
The Colts will be back in action on Tuesday as they face St. Thomas More in the first round of the 1A Carolina Independent Conference tournament, which will be held at Crossroads Christian School in Henderson.
“The last time we played them we only lost by seven but were also missing a key player,” Anderson said. “Considering the intensity that the girls have been playing with the past few weeks I am anticipating that we will be successful on Tuesday and move on to the next round on Friday. It also really helps that the tournament will be held here this year.”
COLTS
said. “This allowed us to get out in transition and really push the pace, which opened things up a little bit. The kind of game we want is that up and down, fast-paced style because those are our strengths and of course we want to play to them.”
Makiyah Jones (5 points), Tyler O’Steen (6 points) and Zaire Edwards (8 points) were a crucial piece of this defensive transformation in the second half, along with Green, Macon and Kenan. The Colts have a lot of speed and they know how to utilize it, which should make them extremely dangerous come playoff time.
The excitement on Cooper’s face after the contest was obvious and he said that he probably wouldn’t get much sleep.
“I just think back to the summer and all the hard work that has gone into getting us to this position and it feels nice,” Cooper said. “It’s a long process. As soon as last year ended we immediately started working on getting back to the playoffs and we are hoping to do some damage this year.”
The Colts will also have the honor of hosting the 1A Carolina Independent Conference tournament this season, which begins on Tuesday. Crossroads only hosts the tournament once every eight seasons and this year seems like destiny. The Colts will face Epiphany in the first round and should move on to the second round Friday.
“We are thrilled to be hosting the tournament this season and hopefully we can make a deep run in that as well,” Cooper said.
