A month break from all basketball activities isn’t exactly a team’s best friend, but with all things considered, the teams at Christian Heritage Academy (CHA) finished its first week back relatively unscathed.

Behind 11 points from Evan Lawrence and a six point, five rebound performance from Ethan Craig, the middle school (4-1) took down New Covenant, 28-19, Jan. 5 in a game head coach Tim Wilson explained as strong cover to cover.

Later that night, the varsity (5-1) fell, 49-38, in an overtime loss to the Griffons. Junior Matthew Bowden, who finished with 24 points and four rebounds, had a shot at the end of regulation, but forced up a heavily-contested look just past half court that fell off-mark. In overtime, CHA struggled to rekindle the offense, while New Covenant did its part in knocking its shots down.

“I’m proud of the heart my guys showed throughout the game,” Wilson noted on the result. “You hate to lose, but our boys lost with dignity.”

The Knights’ varsity didn’t spend very long grieving the first loss of the season, as they traveled to Covington to face the Boys’ Home the day after — Jan. 6. Using principles learned from the night before, Bowden charged CHA with a 40 point performance to a 60-40 victory.

As a team, the Knights swiped the ball 15 times, with four of them coming from sophomore Blake Johnson. Johnson also had eight points and six rebounds.

Approaching the heart of the season, with 10 games during the month of January, Wilson will look to battle the greatest opponent posed to his team in the short term: complacency.

“With so many games on the schedule this month, we hope to stay consistent and not become complacent in our efforts, continuing to improve and better ourselves as a team,” he said.

It has been a roller coaster of emotions for this Knights team. With many potential excuses existing for the team’s demise, including the loss of two players from the roster, the beat goes on for Christian Heritage.

“How they [the team] has responded this month alone is something that I tip my hat to them for,” Wilson added.

“We’ve got to keep the momentum going. I’m hoping we can build off of the success we’ve had, learn from our mistakes and continue to improve as we move forward.”

Up Next:

CHA vs. Temple

Location: The Castle (Home)

Date/Time: Mon., Jan.8 4:30 (JV), 5:30 (Varsity)