Living Water Christian boys' basketball takes home NCCSA tournament title
By Chris Miller cmiller@jdnews.com Feb 25, 2023 Updated 3 hrs ago
The Living Water Christian School boys’ basketball team continued to show it could compete with tough competition.
The Warriors earned their second consecutive state title on Saturday night, defeating Tabernacle Christian of Hickory 83-77 in the N.C. Christian School Association 2-A tournament championship game at Gospel Light Christian School in Winston-Salem.
Living Water won the N.C. Christian Athletic Conference tournament crown last year in its last year in that association before moving to the more competitive NCCSA. Despite the jump up to a tougher league, the Warriors showed they were still a quality program.
“This title says that this program is resilient, that it has built up and that it will continue to build,” Living Water coach Derrick Benbow, Sr., said. “These guys believe in who they are.”
Living Water, which started the season 7-7 amid playing teams such as Greenfield School and public schools Trask and James Kenan, finished having won 13 of its last 15 to finish 20-9 overall. The Warriors ended the season with a nine-game winning streak.
“This was the ultimate goal,” Benbow said. “They believed in the system and just found their groove.”
Several different Living Water players contributed in the championship game victory over Tabernacle Christian (24-3).
Sophomore Dino Loyd had 25 points and 10 rebounds junior Ireione Seright had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists and junior DJ Benbow had 18 points and four assists.
Senior Christopher Marshburn added 14 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and junior Bo Koebbe added six points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
Benbow and Koebbe were both named to the NCCSA All-State team.
The Warriors led 15-11 after the first quarter and 37-25 at halftime after building a 37-17 lead in the second quarter. Tabernacle got to within 58-57 late in the third, but Seright made a half-court shot to end the period and give Living Water a 61-57 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“That shot sparked things up for us,” Benbow, Sr., said. “The team we played was built tough and tonight we showed what a championship game is all about.”
The Living Water boys’ team wasn’t the only team from the school to play in the tournament final.
The Living Water girls’ team got 22 points from senior Ma’Nyah Thomas-Wilson and 17 from junior Janise Holmes, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors fell to Wilson Christian 49-43.
Living Water (17-5) was looking for its fourth consecutive tournament title after the Warriors won the last three N.C. Christian Athletic Conference title, but ran into Wilson Christian (30-3), which was the three-time defending champion.
By Chris Miller cmiller@jdnews.com Feb 25, 2023 Updated 3 hrs ago
The Living Water Christian School boys’ basketball team continued to show it could compete with tough competition.
The Warriors earned their second consecutive state title on Saturday night, defeating Tabernacle Christian of Hickory 83-77 in the N.C. Christian School Association 2-A tournament championship game at Gospel Light Christian School in Winston-Salem.
Living Water won the N.C. Christian Athletic Conference tournament crown last year in its last year in that association before moving to the more competitive NCCSA. Despite the jump up to a tougher league, the Warriors showed they were still a quality program.
“This title says that this program is resilient, that it has built up and that it will continue to build,” Living Water coach Derrick Benbow, Sr., said. “These guys believe in who they are.”
Living Water, which started the season 7-7 amid playing teams such as Greenfield School and public schools Trask and James Kenan, finished having won 13 of its last 15 to finish 20-9 overall. The Warriors ended the season with a nine-game winning streak.
“This was the ultimate goal,” Benbow said. “They believed in the system and just found their groove.”
Several different Living Water players contributed in the championship game victory over Tabernacle Christian (24-3).
Sophomore Dino Loyd had 25 points and 10 rebounds junior Ireione Seright had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists and junior DJ Benbow had 18 points and four assists.
Senior Christopher Marshburn added 14 points, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and junior Bo Koebbe added six points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
Benbow and Koebbe were both named to the NCCSA All-State team.
The Warriors led 15-11 after the first quarter and 37-25 at halftime after building a 37-17 lead in the second quarter. Tabernacle got to within 58-57 late in the third, but Seright made a half-court shot to end the period and give Living Water a 61-57 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“That shot sparked things up for us,” Benbow, Sr., said. “The team we played was built tough and tonight we showed what a championship game is all about.”
The Living Water boys’ team wasn’t the only team from the school to play in the tournament final.
The Living Water girls’ team got 22 points from senior Ma’Nyah Thomas-Wilson and 17 from junior Janise Holmes, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors fell to Wilson Christian 49-43.
Living Water (17-5) was looking for its fourth consecutive tournament title after the Warriors won the last three N.C. Christian Athletic Conference title, but ran into Wilson Christian (30-3), which was the three-time defending champion.
