It’s winning time.
Those are the words that Christ School coach Josh Coley wants his players to fixate on as they open the NCISAA 4-A basketball playoffs as a sneaky No. 3 seed.
The defending state champion Greenies (23-5) will host one of three teams Saturday at 4 p.m. – the winner of Tuesday’s first-round game between Charlotte Christian (5-22) and Durham Academy (16-14) or sixth-seeded High Point Wesleyan Christian Academy (18-11).
Saturday’s game in the Greenie Dome is the quarterfinal round.
“It’s going to be fun. You want to play in big games and compete in those big games,” Coach Coley said.
“We’ve been playing very well. We’ve been practicing very well. Practice is where it should be this time of the year. They’re competing and we don’t even have to say anything. They’re holding each other accountable and that goes a long way. We’re finding the right energy at the right time. It’s like I told them in the locker room (last Friday night), it’s winning time. And we’ve got to make the most of that.”
Christ School has been No. 1 in the NCISAA 4-A rankings from Phenom Hoops and others since the season began in November. But five losses, coupled with a weaker-than-usual year for the Carolinas Athletic Association, hurt the team when it came to seeding.
The Greenies have won six consecutive games since a 63-57 loss at No. 2 Covenant Day on Jan. 20. Christ School led by as many as nine points in that game but came up short.
Cousins Mikey Wilkins ’25 (13.0 points per game) and Keenan Wilkins ’24 (12.9 ppg.) are neck and neck in scoring, with more punch from Jamari Briggs ’24 (9.6 ppg.) and Bryson Cokley ’24 (8.0 ppg.). Mikey averages a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game as well, followed by Lleyton Thomas-Johnson (5.9 rpg.), Jamari (4.0 rpg.), and Bryson (3.8 rpg.).
Assists-wise, the team takes it cues from Keenan (3.4 apg.), Mikey (2.7 apg.), Jamari (2.3 apg.), and Madden Collins ’25 (2.3 apg.). Keenan (1.6) is one of the four Greenies averaging more than one steal per game as a result of the full-court pressure that has been synonymous with this year's team.