Asheville Christian Academy men's basketball falls in season opener

Lions host 14th ranked Legacy Charter Friday

Jonathan Bennett
The Valley Echo
November 16, 2020

Asheville Christian Academy senior Colin Mills led the Lions with 14 points in against Gaston Christian in the Phenom Tip-Off in Rock Hill, S.C. Photo courtesy of ACA Athletic Department/Isaiah Barton

The basketball season tipped off over the weekend at Asheville Christian Academy as the men’s basketball team took to the court in the Phenom Tip-Off event played in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The Lions came up short in both contests falling to both Gaston Christian and Northwood Temple.

In the matchup against Gaston Christian, the Lions jumped out to an 11-4 first-quarter lead but struggled to find any rhythm offensively throughout the rest of the contest. The Lions led the game at the half by a score of 19-18 but only five fourth-quarter points doomed the Lions and saw Gaston Christian take the 43-34 victory. Only four Lions’ players made it into the scorebook against Gaston Christian. Senior Collin Mills led ACA with 14 points while fellow senior, Max Rogers, tallied 12 points.

In the second game of the weekend, the Lions took on the defending NCISAA 1A state champions, Northwood Temple. The Lions got off to a slow start falling behind 7-0 after the first five minutes but steadied the ship before the opening quarter ended trailing only by a score of 12-8. ACA kept things close until an early fourth-quarter run by Northwood Temple pushed their lead to 12 points. 

The Lions responded with a run of their own fueled by a full-court press and baskets by junior Chris Hall and freshmen Christian Andrews that brought the Lions within two at 50-48 with under a minute to play in the game. Two free throws by Northwood Temple and a 3-point miss by Mills in the final seconds closed the door on the ACA come back giving Northwood Temple the 52-48 victory. 

The Lions produced a more balanced scoresheet against Northwood Temple than they did the day before led by Chris Harris’ 12 points and 10 points each by Trelin Harper and Max Rogers. Isaiah Joyner chipped in 6 points behind a pair of 3-pointers.

The Lions take an 0-2 record into their contest this week against the 14th ranked team in the country, Legacy Charter. That game tips off at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 18, at Asheville Christian Academy.