Balanced scoring leads Chargers to first win vs. Southeastern Homeschool
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Five weeks after playing their season opener, the Wayne Country Day boys’ basketball team returned to action Tuesday and they didn’t disappoint.
The Chargers cruised to an 85-50 home win over Southeastern Homeschool out of Wilmington thanks to a team effort on both ends of the floor. This comes after their season opening loss, 68-48 at Cape Fear Christian on November 10th. For head coach Nathan Faulk, it’s his first win as the lead man for WCDS.
“It’s been crazy,” Faulk said about the long wait between games. “The first half was sloppy, buth with a long layoff, that was to be expected. I thought we played a much better second half because we played 94 feet of defense and started to get out in transition which is what we like to do.”
WCDS’ senior duo of Columbia signee Jaden Cooper and forward Vante Hutcherson sparked the offense in the first half. Cooper led the way with 23 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists while Hutcherson finished with 14 points and 20 rebounds.
“It always feels good to get a win,” Hutcherson said. “We didn’t come out with enough energy in our first game, so that was a big thing for us going into tonight.”
The Chargers (1-1) led by 14 at the half and turned on the jets in the third quarter. Mike Best Jr. (18 points), D’Andre Ervin (13), and Jordan Cooper (16) all came to play as the entire starting five posted double figure scoring numbers. Hutcherson threw down an emphatic poster late in the third quarter that ignited the crowd. A buzzer beating three from Jaden Cooper gave the hosts a 58-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“This game is something we definitely needed,” Hutcherson added. “We haven’t been in the gym as much because of COVID-19 concerns and we’re playing a lot of games in the next week or so. Game action and pratice will help since we’re going to play some good teams coming up.”
Overall, Wayne Country Day shot 70% from the field and went 9-19 (47%) from downtown. The Chargers travel to face Wake Christian Thursday before their conference opener against crosstown rival Wayne Christian Friday.
