Cinque Lemon of CFCA rises for a dunk on Friday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Cape Fear Christian Academy split varsity basketball contests with visiting Grace Christian on Friday. The Eagles won the boys game and the Crusaders won the girls game.
Cape Fear Christian took a lopsided 82-38 win over Grace Christian in the boys game.
“Basically, we’re just trying to get them to play with high intensity,” said CFCA boys coach Steve Mims, Jr. “We’re trying to really gear up, because we’re about to go into the really heavy part of our preseason. We’ve got to play against Word of God again, which we’ve got to play at their place. We’ve got to play against Burlington School. We might have to make up the United Faith game and then we have to go to Phenom and the Beach Ball Classic. So, all of these are tune-up games for us to get there. So, we’ve got to get the intensity and the energy early.”
Four players scored in double figures for the Eagles (9-1). Tristan Harkins had 14 points. Cinque Lemon had 12 points. Amari Pearson had 11 points. Deshawn Woods had 10 points.
Caden Bell had nine points. Silla Tako had eight points. Zeke Brock had seven points. David Okropiridze and Paul Tako had four points apiece. Truman Claytor had three points.
“It’s about who plays the hardest,” Mims said. “If you play hard, you get to stay on the court. If you aren’t playing hard, you don’t. We’re even enough and have enough talent that we can hold that type of intensity the entire game.”
Jesse Mitchell had 10 points to lead the Crusaders (6-5).
Cape Fear Christian outscored Grace Christian in all four quarters: 21-10 in the first quarter, 28-12 in the second, 24-12 in the third and 9-4 in the fourth.
In the girls game, Cape Fear Christian fought back after a rough start, but a late third-quarter surge led Grace Christian to a 49-32 win.
“We played a strong two-and-a-half quarters,” said CFCA girls coach Bobby Lamb. “After they made that run early in the game, we made our run. I was hoping that we were going to make one in the second half, but we didn’t.”
Junior Leah Brannon had 16 points to pace the Eagles (4-4).
Reyna Johnson had five points. Meredith Taylor had four points. Gracie Byrd had three points. Trinity Olive and Ella John Dupree had two points apiece.
Eighth-grader Kaleigh Wilson had 17 points and junior Lara Lieckfield had 13 points to lead the Crusaders (4-3).
Grace Christian held a 22-8 lead early in the second quarter when Cape Fear Christian responded with a 12-2 run, capped by a Johnson three just before the buzzer, to cut the lead to 24-20 at halftime.
Holding a 29-24 lead late in the third, Grace Christian finished the quarter on a 9-2 run and led by double digits the remainder of the game.
Cape Fear Christian is at home against the Burlington School on Thursday.
Silla Tako blocks a shot in CFCA’s 82-38 win.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Zeke Brock drops a 3-pointer against Grace Christian.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Deshawn Woods finishes at the offensive end for the Eagles.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Amari Pearson scores for CFCA as the Eagles improved to 9-1.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Gracie Byrd drives in to score for the Lady Eagles.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Meredith Taylor claims an offensive rebound for the CFCA girls.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Reyna Johnson hits a 3-pointer at the close of the first half.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Leah Brannon scores for the CFCA girls.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
