Calvary Baptist wins a pair of ACCAC titles
The Calvary Baptist Warriors had a very successful weekend in both winning ACCAC titles.
The Calvary Baptist boys basketball team rose through some adversity this season to defeat undefeated West Chester Christian school and win their second ACCAC championship 61-53 in as many years on Saturday.
“West Chester is a fast, slashing team that loves to drive to the basket so I told my guys we had to play an aggressive, physical game to slow them down. The team executed the game plan flawlessly,” said Calvary coach Matthew Philbrick.
Keith Liott led the way with 29 points followed by Britt Schwartz with 20. The game was characterized by defense though with Brock Jackson, Lawrenz Haliday and Joseph Faucette drawing the biggest assignments. In a combined effort, they held the league MVP to 7 points.
The Warriors led the game at halftime by six points and never lost the lead in the second half winning the championship by a score of 61-53. Brock Jackson, Britt Schwartz and Joseph Faucette made the all tournament team with Britt Schwartz being the tournament MVP.
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The Lady Warriors captured their 18th straight win along with the ACCAC Championship on Saturday night.
The Warriors who had only lost to one team all year were heavy favorites heading into the tournament and the girls handled the pressure extremely well capturing a victorious 53-38 win against a quick and dangerous Valley Forge Baptist Academy team.
“I told the girls before the game that even though we are playing on our home court and in front of our home fans, it is going to feel like an “away game” as the other schools in attendance will not be cheering for us, “said Coach Timothy Hampton.
Playing in front of a packed house, the Warriors got off to a quick start and Jenna Carmichael made a great steal and basket as the buzzer sounded to give the Warriors a 16-6 lead to end the first quarter.
“Carmichael is a defensive phenomenon and
makes big plays at the perfect time and none was more perfect than that to give us the momentum heading into the second quarter, said Hampton.
The second quarter led by the outside shooting of Aubrey Hampton and Aubryn Ridge the teams battled back and forth, however, the key difference was Sophia Kessler providing a well needed spark off the bench to give the Warriors a 16-point lead heading into halftime.
“Sophia Kessler can play any position and plays it at such a high level, which is unbelievable,” said Hampton. “This was never more apparent than when Sophia traditionally
a point guard, needed to start for the team’s power forward who was sick during the semifinals the night before and did an amazing job.”
The second half started similar to the first half with the Warriors pushing the lead up to 22 points, however, Valley Forge led by their junior PG brought the team back to within 11 to end the third period.
While the crowd intensified in favor of Valley Forge, the Warriors were able to keep the difference in the double digits, led by the grit of their captains Grace Leader and Aubryn Ridge.
Ridge ended her fabulous high school career with a double double (25 points and 12 rebounds) and sophomore Aubrey Hampton added 10 points. Genesis Olaleye led the Warriors on the boards
with 19 rebounds and key baskets throughout the game.
“I tell the players, it’s not always how often you score but when you score and Genesis has been making key baskets for us all year to stop the other team’s momentum,” Hampton said.
In the end, the Warriors were too strong and captured their first championship in 10 years.
“They have worked hard for this and it is so nice to see them being rewarded,” said Hampton.
Aubryn Ridge was named MVP of the conference, along with allleague performers Genesis Olaleye (junior), Grace Leader (junior) and Aubrey Hampton (sophomore).
Aubryn Ridge was named AllTournament MVP, along with alltournament all-stars Genesis Olaleye and Aubrey Hampton.