It took Fairfax Christian a little while to get warmed up against Christ Chapel. Once the Cardinals did, however, they showed the makings of a deep, talented team that will be hard to stop in the NVIAC.
The result was a 60-50 victory for host Fairfax Christian on Tuesday night. After trailing early 7-1, the Cardinals stormed back to take a lead after one quarter and never looked back. They were buoyed by their bench, with bruising senior forward Haze Green leading the way with 15 points. He was far from the only Cardinal to play well off the pine, with 34 of the team’s 60 total points coming from non-starters.
On a night where neither team shot particularly well, Green also helped the Cardinals (2-0) secure a significant advantage over the Lions on the glass. He, junior Zachary Bolgert, and senior Sekou Kaba all pushed double digits in rebounds, helping to give their team a significant 43-28 advantage on the boards.
Junior point guard Ryan Blakey, a transfer from Theodore Roosevelt (DC), put a charge into his team on offense with 10 points and six assists. On defense he was a major factor with his quick hands, as was senior star guard Donovahn Keyes. Keyes got his team fired up with a sensational block and beautiful out-of-bounds save early in the second half, which helped spark a 6-0 Cardinals run and 14-point lead.
Christ Chapel (2-1), which had already won two one-possession games earlier this season, didn’t quit. Aaron Cavezza scored to cut the deficit to 48-41 early in the fourth quarter, and then after a Cardinals score found fellow senior Tyshaun Pulley for a bucket to make it 50-43. The Lions could get no closer than that, however.
The Lions were led by freshman point guard Shamar Sisco’s 12 points. The young Sisco impressed with his ability to handle Fairfax Christian’s defensive pressure all night. Pulley added eight points in the loss.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| FAIRFAX CHRISTIAN | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| BLAKEY | 4-9 | 1-4 | 10 | 5 | 6 | |
| KEYES | 1-9 | 2-4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | |
| BOLGERT | 3-5 | 2-2 | 9 | 8 | 0 | |
| KABA | 1-5 | 0-0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | |
| CARTER | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Caulker | 3-8 | 1-2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | |
| Green | 6-10 | 3-7 | 15 | 7 | 1 | |
| Baldwin | 3-3 | 0-0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | |
| Bailey | 2-2 | 0-0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wesley | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 23-57 | 9-19 | 60 | 43 | 15 | |
| Threes: Bailey 1-1, Bolgert 1-2, Blakey 1-3, Caulker 1-3, Keyes 1-6 | ||||||
| CHRIST CHAPEL | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| SISCO | 3-12 | 5-6 | 12 | 1 | 2 | |
| PULLEY | 3-10 | 2-2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | |
| GASKINS | 3-8 | 0-2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | |
| CUNNINGHAM | 2-5 | 0-0 | 4 | 6 | 3 | |
| HARRIS | 1-11 | 2-3 | 4 | 7 | 1 | |
| Garrison | 3-5 | 1-2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | |
| Wilson | 1-2 | 2-3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| Neaves | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Cavezza | 2-2 | 0-0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| TOTALS | 18-56 | 12-18 | 50 | 28 | 12 | |
| Threes: Gaskins 1-3, Sisco 1-4, Cunningham 0-1, Garrison 0-1, Pulley 0-3, Harris 0-4 | ||||||