Tigers use veteran experience in win over Falcons
Champion Christian’s men used their veteran experience late to close out the Tigers’ 8776 win over Kansas Christian at Champion Christian College Sports Complex Thursday night.
Although the Tigers showed poise down the stretch to see out the victory, Champion Christian head coach Mo Capaci said his team’s performances can still get better moving forward throughout the rest of the season.
“I felt it’s exciting because it was a good game,” he said. “We played good, but the best part about it is we beat a very good team at our level. A very good team. Really in the long run we can get a lot better. We had way too many offensive rebounds allowed, a lot of turnovers in the first half, and we missed a lot of shots.”
He added that his team is around 15 points better than it was Thursday night, and said the win was big for the Tigers.
“That was a regional game,” he said. “They were honestly probably more of a top 10 team as far as just competition at our level. They play a lot of teams in the northern area we don’t get to play. That common opponent is helpful.”
Champion Christian went into halftime with a 45-38 lead, and both teams started the third quarter in a sluggish fashion.
Things started to heat up when Kansas Christian’s Raquan Frazier completed a spin move in the paint before nailing his shot to bring the contest within 56-54 with just under 11 minutes to play.
Champion Christian’s Malik Laurent answered with a big block on one end of the court before K.J. Corder made a kick out pass to Kyle Malone who knocked down a trey on the offensive end for a 59-54 edge.
This pattern of play continued throughout the fourth quarter as the Falcons battled back on a few different occasions but could never take the lead.
“Our team is full of veterans,” Capaci said. “We have one true freshman on the team. … Every single player is close to a junior and up and so that helps us having that experience. A lot of guys have been there, done
that.”
Malone and Corder are both actually newcomers to the team this semester. Despite the new faces seeing plenty of time on the court, the Tigers’ ball movement looked well oiled, and the chemistry was flowing between the players on the floor.
“We’ve gotten a lot deeper,” Capaci said. “It just seems like the guys trust each other. I’ve had quite a few fans tell me from our last game, ‘You kind of look a lot like the Spurs of old.’ Like the dynasty the Spurs had or maybe the modern day Warriors. Not in comparison to the team obviously, but just the ball movement. The guys are unselfish.”
After Malone’s big 3-pointer, the Falcons brought the game within 59-57 after a long-range trey from Jackson Hall. Kansas Christian could not get within two points again after Hall’s basket.
“It’s been a long week coming back from last week,” Kansas Christian head coach Jaime Cuellar said. “We didn’t get to practice as much as we have. We had guys waiting for COVID tests. This week we had most of these guys play three games in three nights. No excuses. Hats off to coach Mo. They had the better team tonight.”
Champion Christian responded and increased its lead a few possessions later on a steal and basket from A.J. Williams. Now ahead 63-57, Williams forced Kansas Christian into a timeout with the momentum shifter.
“When they cut it close, big shot after big shot,” Capaci said. “Big stops. Big rebounds. That’s what I’m so excited about this season is I think we can win out a lot of close games because of that experience.”
The Tigers looked like they might pull away when Laurent finished at the rim for a 69-61 edge.
However, the Falcons responded with a free throw, and after Laurent missed a closerange shot, Kansas Christian added two more free throws to bring the game within 71-66.
Looking to take control of the game, Malone drained a huge 3-pointer for the Tigers with 2:55 to play. The junior affected the game again with a fast break basket for a 76-67 Tigers lead.
Williams got the crowd on its feet and really gave the Tigers all the momentum when the junior stole the ball, dribbled down the court and slammed home a one-handed dunk for a 78-68 buffer.
After the dunk, the Tigers closed out the game at the free throw line. With 1:08 left to play, Braylon Hawkins made two free throws to extend the Tigers’ lead to 12 points.
Williams went to the line with 38 seconds remaining on the clock and drained two more, and the Dallas native went to the line again just 10 seconds later and added two more free throws to put the game out of reach.
“What I take away is, this is a team that can go all the way,” Capaci said. “We have the pieces. We’re deep. We’re unselfish. Egos I think are put to the side right now which is something I haven’t been able to do for a while, just have an egoless team.”
Hawkins scored Champion Christian’s final two points of the game at the line, and Javarius Washington set the final with a basket for the Falcons.
“Their starters, Braylon and A.J., those guys are tough man,” Cuellar said. “We came out flat, and you can’t come out flat especially on their home court. We knew what we had to bring and we didn’t bring it.”
Hawkins led the Tigers with a 20-point performance, Williams scored 18 and Malone tallied 12 points for Champion Christian.
Washington led Kansas Christian with 15 points, Elazar Conley scored 14 and both Frazier and Vince Smith tallied 12 points for the Falcons.