30-2 ‘not a fluke’; Crusaders cruise to fourth round

In a clash of giants, a showdown for the ages, the Harrells Christian Academy boys’ basketball team hosted bitter rival Trinity Christian Saturday night for the third round of the NCISAA playoffs. Harrells, with a 29-2 record and regular season and tournament champions for the Coastal Independent Conference, had a double-bye to start the playoffs, while the Crusaders of Trinity had to fight through two rounds before knocking on Harrells’ door. When the final whistle blew, it was a victory by Harrells, as the hosts took the 65-55 win to advance to the state semi-finals.

Trinity took the opening tip over the outstretched hand of Antonio McKoy, but a tough defense from the hosts caused an errant pass to end their first trip with the ball. A shot from J’Kaeshi Brunson just behind the arc was no good, but the guard made up for it on a steal from the visitors on their next possession. Harrells struggled early with the shot-blocking abilities of their lengthy competitors, but their tight defense made up for it at the other end.

Antonio McKoy scored the game’s first points, knocking down a pair of free throws with 6:32 left in the opening quarter as the two giants imposed their wills defensively. Trinity tied the game on a layup over Harrells’ big man, Amir Moore.

If either team was going to break away at any point, it was going to be hard fought by their opponent, and each squad made that abundantly clear from the start. Over half the quarter expired, and the teams were locked at 2-2, even with their high-powered offenses throughout the season. Defense was sure to win this game, but whose was yet to be determined.

A Brunson bounce pass fed Antonio McKoy to get down the baseline, and he ank the layup as well as the free throw after being fouled, making it a 5-2 lead as Trinity grabbed their third team foul just over four minutes into the game. Trinity responded quickly with an elbow jumper, but Antonio McKoy hit a step-back jumper at the top of the key to extend the lead once more at 7-4.

Dashaun McKoy and Moore got themselves into the box score, as McKoy fed the towering big man on the low block for his first dunk of the game. Another Trinity possession wouldn’t go the visitors’ way and this time Antonio McKoy fed the front court monster Moore for a fast break layup with 1:48 to go in the first. This made it an 11-4 game and the visiting Crusaders called for the game’s first timeout.

Moore hit his third straight basket — another layup — to showcase that if Trinity was going to stop McKoy, they still had other weapons. The hosting Crusaders held the 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, as they fell into their rhythm and started playing the basketball they had been used to all year.

While Harrells didn’t get any points to start the second with the first possession, the Crusaders bounced right back to their scoring habits from the end of the first quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Antonio McKoy with 5:27 to play in the half forced another timeout from the visiting Crusaders as the score climbed to 21-8 in favor of Harrells.

The score teeter-tottered between the two schools as they traded baskets, but Trinity went on a 6-2 run to make it 23-14 before a Zicareian McNeil triple and an Antonio McKoy jumper in front of the hoop extended it to 28-14 as Harrells was dominating the offensive and defensive boards. The hosts were doing an outstanding job cleaning glass.

Their efforts on the boards led to offensive efficiency, and Trinity signaled for a timeout with 1:46 left with Harrells leading 31-14 thanks to Antonio McKoy feeding McNeil for another three. Moore had the put-back layup from an Antonio McKoy shot that was just off the mark to add another pair of points for Harrells, and going into halftime, the score sat at 33-18 in favor of the hosting Crusaders.

Back-to-back buckets from Trinity opened the second half, but a Moore layup stopped the early bleed. The visiting Crusaders started out hot, but Dashaun McKoy was there to counter with another three. The score sat at 38-24 with 6:06 to play in the third as head coach Clayton Hall called for a timeout after the triple to spark life back into his team.

The comeback was alive and well for Trinity over halfway through the third period, as they were on a 12-7 run to make it 38-30 before Antonio McKoy pushed it back over a 10-point lead on a 3-point play, making a layup through contact and the subsequent foul shot.

Moore picked up his first foul on a layup from Trinity, and the visitors completed a 3-point play of their own. Not to be outdone, Brunson fed Dashaun McKoy for a corner three, keeping the lead at seven with under three minutes to go in the third. Brunson connected with Antonio McKoy on an inbound pass, setting McKoy up to sink a floater across the lane to make it a 46-37 ball game as Harrells was finding its flow once more.

Antonio McKoy tried to dial up the law firm on the McKoy-McKoy connection to Dashaun on an alley-oop, but the pass was off the mark. Dashaun got retribution shortly after on a chase-down block on the ensuing fast break.

A buzzer-beater from the visitors nearly found its mark to end the third, but the score remained at the 46-38 mark as the final chapter of the third-round match-up was about to unfold.

Antonio McKoy was no good on an elbow jumper to start the fourth, but Brunson made up for it when he buried a jumper of his own. McKoy would grab a steal on Trinity’s next possession and sent home a high-flying fast break dunk to make it 52-40, much to the chagrin of the hometown crowd, eliciting a massive response from the Harrells fans.

Moore exited the game with 5:49 to play with an apparent leg injury, which sidelined him for a bit as he stretched it out. Not even a minute later, he returned to the game.

Dashaun McKoy came down with a massive block of what could have been a Trinity dunk, but McNeil was called for the travel after taking the ball, ending a fast break for the home team. Still, Harrells maintained the 52-42 advantage with under five minutes to play in the contest as they tried to stave off the Crusader attack.

Fouls became more prevalent in the final period, as Dashaun McKoy added a pair of free throws from Trinity’s third team foul just north of four minutes. Harrells had four of their own at this point. McNeil fought through the foul on a layup half a minute later, sinking the shot but not the free throw, giving Trinity its fourth team foul as Harrells led 56-44 with under four minutes left.

A foul was called on Brunson as Trinity shot a 3 with just over a minute to play, but the Trinity shooter couldn’t connect on any of the free throws, and the game stayed parked at 59-48 with Harrells ahead. A pair of free throws with just a hair under a minute left from Antonio McKoy gave them the 61-49 lead, as every possession from here on out resulted in the hosts being fouled.

Harrells would take the 65-55 win on their home court. The Crusaders will travel to Burlington tonight to take on No. 2 seed Burlington School for the NCISAA 2A state semi-finals, with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. A win tonight puts them in the state championship on Friday night at Providence Day.

“Rebounding,” Hall said with a chuckle, on what his words to the team were at halftime. “Biggest thing is rebounding. We got a lot of stops in the second quarter, and we rebounded well. But in the third quarter, we didn’t rebound it well.”

Hall also noted that the team would take Saturday night to celebrate their accomplishments and get ready for the 18-11 Spartans, who they face tonight. “When you’re 30-2, it’s no fluke, so I’m really happy for these kids and I’m looking forward to the opportunity. We’re just enjoying the ride right now,” were the coach’s final words.