Christ Church goes back-to-back with 53-32 over Bethune-Bowman

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Florence – Christ Church scored the first nine points of the game and never looked back as they defeated a game Bethune-Bowman team 53-32 to capture their second consecutive Class A basketball state championship and third state championship in four years. They won the AA title in 2020/21.

“I am so proud of our guys. They accepted the challenge. We won in twenty-one but then had a not so good year in twenty-two and then won in twenty-three. My seniors DJ Harvey and Jack Fagan said this won’t happen again coach,” said Christ Church head coach John Butler.

“We had to play a different style this year. We did not have the rim protector that we had in the past. We told the guys all summer that we cannot get beat off the dribble. Our guys embraced the fundamentals of defense by getting down in their stances, being aware of where the ball is on the court and moving. Our defense was a lot better this year,” coach Butler said.

The Cavaliers held Bethune-Bowman to 25% (13-52) shooting from two-point range and 6% (1-18) from three-point range. While the Cav’s did not have a blocked shot, they did force thirteen turnovers and had nine steals on the night.

The Mohawks played a solid game on defense as well holding the Cavs to seventeen points below their season average. They held the Cavs to 1-12 from behind the Arc and forced fifteen turnovers to go with eight steals. The poor shooting also occurred at the Free Throw line where the Mohawks were only 5-14.

“We picked the wrong night to have an off night shooting,” said Bethune-Bowman head coach Charles McCray. “I thought we played well on defense tonight, but we could not get a shot to fall. Christ Church did a good job of getting a hand in our face.”

The first quarter saw the Cav’s Adam Brown come out fast as he scored the first six points of the game. The Cav’s had a 10-6 lead after one. The Mohawks All Sate guard Bryson Robinson had four points in the quarter unfortunately that would be his only points on the night.

The second quarter saw the Cav’s steadily increase their lead as Brown continued to score and Reid Hipp chipped in with four points as the teams went to the break with the Cavs up 22-11.

Bethune-Bowman continued to battle in the third quarter with Derik Simon scoring six points, but Christ Church had Jonathan Perry and Jude Hall scored seven of their teams twelve points in the quarter and the lead grew to thirteen at 34-21.

The fourth quarter was the coronation for the Cav’s as they continued to increase the lead as they outscored the Mohawks 19-11 for the final score of 53-32.

The Mohawks were led by Simon and Terrance McFadden who each scored eleven points. Simon was the top rebounder with seven to go with one block and two steals. They finished the year at 18-7/10-2 and had an 8-game win streak snapped.

“It was a tough night for sure, but we have a good group coming back and we gained experience that should help us next season,” said Bethune Bowman coach McCray.

 The Cav’s finished the year at 20-5/8-0. They were led by Brown, who had a game high fourteen points and Hipp who finished with eleven. He also had a game high thirteen boards.

Harvey, the Class A player of the year, had his usual solid night with seven points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

“We have a good group coming back and some young players that will make an impact next year, but we will miss DJ and Jack’s leadership and unselfish play as well as the rest of the seniors. To see this team come together was special and they had a special year,” coach Butler said.