Varsity Boys Basketball

Our Varsity Boys Basketball Team traveled over to New Life Camp on Tuesday, December 6th to compete against the Storm for the second time this season.  The Warriors are still looking for their first win and wanted to have a good showing headed into this game.  The Warriors got off to a slow start an could not seem to make a basket.  The Warriors scrambled and hustled on defense but suffered with the defensive rotations and lack of boxing out.  "We have to do a better job of contesting shots and rebounding," said Coach Coley.  The Warriors went on a small run but could not overcome the 3 point shots of the Storm. Although the Warriors battled until the end they just did not have enough to come back from the deficit.  "We have to get better defensively.  We have to do a better job on our defensive rotations and with boxing out and rebounding." - Coach Coley. The Warriors will take the court again in a conference match up on Friday, December 9th when they travel to Cary Christian to take on the Knights. 

The Warriors traveled to Cary Christian to take on the Knights in a surprise second round matchup of EPIC teams in the playoff. St. David’s had played well in their win at Coastal Christian and were looking forward to the challenge of facing a very talented Cary team.    

Cary opened the game with great pressure and forced SDS into early turnovers to gallop out to a 6-2 lead in the first minutes of the quarter. The Warriors regrouped after a timeout and responded with a 14-8 run to take a 16-14 lead into the second quarter. The first quarter run was spearheaded by Riley Berkoff’s 8 points. Jackson Rouser and Hank Madden also joined in with 4 points each. The Knights would respond in the second quarter to outscore the Warriors 19-12 to take a 33-28 lead into the locker-room at halftime. Hank Madden kept St. David’s close with 6 points in the quarter.    

The third quarter was a faced paced back and forth contest as both teams refused to give in to the other. Cary would take that quarter by a slim 15-12 margin to hold a 40-48 lead. Riley Berkoff slashed his way to 4 points in the quarter. The fourth quarter was a defensive affair with both teams strategically trying to limit the other. The Warriors came as close as 5 points but could not keep pace with the Knights who made timely outside shots and gathered numerous offensive rebounds to put things out of reach on the way to a hard fought 57-45 victory. Hank Madden and Riley Berkoff each pumped in 16 points and Jackson Rouser worked his way to 8 points in a starting role. The defeat ended the Warrior season a 7-19.     

Coach Coley added "it was everything but the win tonight. We played Warrior basketball out there tonight. The coaching staff is so proud of the effort and perseverance tonight. We could have very easily come in and offered no resistance to a strong Cary team that has beaten us soundly in our first two meetings. We left it all out there tonight. They should be proud of their effort. It has been a joy to watch the maturation process this season. Our young men have endured a lot, but they have shown great character. This is what the coaching staff is most proud of. We have 8 seniors, and we will miss them all. We have nothing but great things to say about how they worked. This is bittersweet but I think we will look back on it later and be glad that we had this experience and this time together. "

Thank you so much for all the support for our Warriors this season. 

The Warriors went into rival territory on Friday, January 28th for their second matchup of the year against conference opponent Cary Christian. The Warriors started the game off slow struggling to score on offense and stop the Knights on defense leaving the Warriors down 0-8 in the first 2 minutes. The struggles continued into the 2nd quarter as Cary Christian got hot from deep and shut down the Warriors' attempts to close the gap. The Knights led 38-13 at the half after outscoring the team 38-13. After a fiery halftime speech by head coach Will Coley, the Warriors came out of the break looking to claw their way back into the game. The Warriors had a solid third-quarter holding the Knights to 12 points in the period and scoring 11 themselves led by buckets by seniors Ghalon Chisley (10 points), Riley Berkoff (9 points) and Hank Madden (8 points). The lead the Knights had built was just too much to overcome, even with solid defensive efforts from John Hauser and Luke Nelson in the fourth, the Warriors lost by a score of 63-31. The Warriors look to forget this loss and head into Tuesday's (February 1st) game against Parrott Academy looking to win on Senior Night.

The Warriors, coming off a win last week against NRCA, looked to build off that win against a quality opponent in New Life Camp on Tuesday, January 25th. The Warriors started off strong first quarter fueled by the shooting of seniors Hank Madden and Riley Berkoff. The Warriors continued strong play on both ends of the floor into half time taking a 25-20 lead into the break. The Warriors came out sluggish and struggled in the third quarter allowing New Life Camp to close the gap. In the fourth New Life and the Warriors went back and forth trading the lead several times. Late in the fourth with 20 seconds left the Warriors took the ball up the court down 42-46 looking to cut the lead and come back. The Warriors looked around on offense and found senior John Hauser for a clutch corner three that cut the New Life lead to 45-46. The Warriors fouled a New Life player and sent him to the line with about 7 seconds left. The New Life player made the first free throw but missed the second. The Warriors moved the ball up the court and found Madden in the corner for a three that would’ve put the Warriors up by one. Unfortunately the three rattled out and the Warriors lost by a score of 47-45. A tough loss for the Warriors but one that they can learn from. Madden lead the team in scoring with 16 points and had 4 assists. The Warriors look to get back in the win column against Grace Christian at home on Thursday, January 27th at home.

The Warriors traveled across town take on the North Raleigh Christian Knights on Thursday afternoon.   The Warriors came out and set a great tone defensively with numerous steals and deflections.   Ghalon Chisley was spry and active with 6 of the teams 13 points to give SDS a 13-10 lead going into the second quarter.   The Warriors continued to befuddle the Knights with some great defense.   SDS would own the quarter doubling NRCA up 18-9.   Chisley stayed on the pedal slashing up the defense for 12 of the 18 points to give the Warriors a 31-19 lead at the half.    

North Raleigh would answer in the third behind 12 points from guard Parker Hodgson.  SDS could not find the mark in the third and drastically cooled off.  Hank Madden tried to stem the tide with 5 points but the Knights would win the quarter 16-9 to close the gap to 40-35.    The fourth quarter was a frantic battle between the two teams.  North Raleigh would capitalize off Warrior turnovers to take a lead two-point lead with 40 seconds to go.   The Warriors would execute and have a chance to tie with a pair of free throw opportunities.  Seabrooks would miss both, but the Warriors would play some great defense and get the ball back to tie the game with 3 seconds to go on a Riley Berkoff drive to tie the score at 48 at the end of regulation.   

The Warriors showed toughness in overtime with great execution.   Timely 3 pointers from Cooper Berkoff and Hank Madden helped propel SDS forward.   A pair of free throws by Riley Berkoff and a single free throw from Ghalon Chisley would seal the deal with 3 seconds to go despite a three-quarter court heave from Noah McKenzie to give the Warriors a hard-fought road 57-56 victory.   Ghalon Chisley lead the Warriors with 21 points. Seventeen of those were in the first half!   Hank Madden dialed it up from the outside with 15 points.  The team was also buoyed by solid play from Cooper and Riley Berkoff.   

Coach Coley added that "any win on the road is great.  It was great to be on the winning side of things tonight.  Our team was very disciplined and poised tonight.  We played like a senior laden team tonight.   This will be a good building block as we get into the meat of the conference schedule.   I hope we can duplicate the level of execution exhibited tonight.  It was great to see. We are grateful for the win.”   

The team will return to play at home against New Life Camp on January 25th at 7:00pm. 

The Warriors had a home game against Cary Christian on Friday, January 14th. The Warriors came into the game looking to continue their streak off their last win against Parrott Academy. The Warriors started off the game scraping and keeping it close but Cary started the game on an 8-0 run. The Warriors fought to keep it close and finished the first half down just 28-22. The Warriors weren’t done fighting. The Warriors and Knights went back and forth in the third keeping it within reach, being down 9 going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the opponent made a couple of key threes in the fourth and pulled away far enough that the Warriors couldn't recover. The Warriors took a tough loss but look to learn from certain mistakes that were made and get better going into a the next games. Seniors Hank Madden and Riley Berkoff led the Warriors in scoring with 16 and 10 points each. Coach Coley told his team that they "played hard and that our defense was fairly solid. Struggling offensively after that was the difference in the game but I am proud of their effort." The Warriors look to get back on track on Thursday, January 20th at NRCA. 

The Warriors traveled to Kinston, NC on Tuesday January 11th for the start of conference play against Arendell Parrott Academy. The Warriors jumped to an early in the first quarter on the back of some aggressive defense holding the Parrott to just 2 points in the first quarter, 9-2. The Patriots clawed back in the second outscoring St. David's 13-11. The Warriors held on at half 20-15. The Warriors looked past mistakes and poor third quarter performances answering with a 19-6 run and had a stellar third out scoring Parrott 19-6 behind stiff team defense and 8 points from senior, Hank Madden. By the end of the third the Warriors led 39-21. Madden led the team in scoring with 13 points and had 2 steals. Senior BJ Seabrooks also had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Never looking back, the Warriors shut down Parrott in the second half and secured their first conference win of the year winning 50-29. Coach Coley added that "it is a great win on the road. This win gives us a lot of confidence." The team plays Cary Academy at home on Friday, January 14th at 7:00pm. Please come support our Warriors! 

The Warriors came back from winter break with a game away at High Point Christian Academy, the Warriors did not have a good night shooting from the floor averaging a poor 20% for the game. The Warriors' offense stalled and were just outplayed by high point. Senior Riley Berkoff was a bright spot for the Warriors, scoring 15 points along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Senior BJ Seabrooks also tacked on 5 points, 4 rebounds, and a block. The Warriors were simply unable to keep up with the Cougars and lost by a score of 76-28. The Warriors took this loss in stride and looked to fix their mistakes and play better in their next game against Fayetteville Academy. The Warriors only had 7 active players for the game but that did not stop them from having arguably their best half of the season where the offense and defense played efficiently and the Warriors only trailed by 1 going into the half. Unfortunately, the third quarter did the Warriors in as they only scored 5 points in the 3rd. Even with the lack of players and being down entering the fourth the Warriors fought hard and never gave up, even playing the last minute of the game with 4 players on the court. Seniors Riley Berkoff and Hank Madden lead the Warriors in scoring with 15 and 13 points respectively. In the end, the Warriors fell to Fayetteville Academy by a score of 58-47. The Warriors look to take this strong performance into conference play where they have their first game in Kinston, NC vs rival Parrott Academy on January 11th.

The Warriors traveled to Greenfield, NC over the break for the annual Greenfield Christmas basketball tournament. They played three games over a three-day span and competing in all three they finished the tournament with a record of 1-2 but got better every game. The Warriors started off opening night against the host team of Greenfield Academy. Greenfield hit the ground running outsourcing the Warriors 45-17 in the first half and never looked back. The Warriors tried to fight back but poor execution and sloppy play sunk the Warriors as they lost by a score of 76-32. Seniors Hank Madden and Riley Berkoff lead the Warriors in scoring with 10 points apiece. The Warriors looked to learn from their first game and clean up their play in their second game against Richmond Christian. The Warriors played significantly better against Richmond and were a lot sharper on both sides of the ball. The game was close throughout as both teams traded baskets no team ever gaining a lead of more than 7. Madden kept the Warriors in the contest scoring 16 points (a season-high for Madden), 3 assists, and 3 steals. The Warriors kept it close throughout but unfortunately lost in the end by a score of 43-38. The Warriors went into their third game against Raleigh Trinity looked to take what they had learned from the first two games and get the victory. The game was similar to the second in that it was very back and forth throughout the game. The Warriors entered into the fourth quarter down 35-38 looking to rally, and rally they did. Berkoff scored 8 points in the quarter singlehandedly outscoring Trinity. The Warriors near the end of the quarter found themselves tied with Trinity 43-43 with 1:03 left to play when Senior Ghalon Chisley drove baseline and found Senior BJ Seabrooks on a beautiful pass inside that Seabrooks converted which put the Warriors up by 2 with a minute to go. The Warriors’ defense clamped down and did not allow Trinity to score for the remainder of the game and won by a score of 46-43. Seniors Berkoff and Madden were named game co-MVP by assistant Coach Tiffany Clifton after a great performance by the seniors. Coach Coley added comments about the tournament saying "our players played so har. I am so glad that we were able to finish with a win. I hope this gives the boys some renewed confidence. We are proud of their ability to persevere and hold on through this tough part of the season. We will be better for all that we have gone through and the coaching staff I looking forward to the rest of the season!" The Warriors look to use their positive momentum after the break with their first game back being at High Point Christian on January 4th, 2022.