Flowers: Chargers starting to peak at right time

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 31, 2014 1:47 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

First-year Wayne Country Day head coach David Flowers hoped that his team could peak at the right time during a long, grueling season.

The Chargers appear headed in the right direction.

Flowers scheduled nine opponents that have been ranked in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association state polls. WCDS also has a pair of victories over public schools.

Hopefully that experience will pay off down the stretch.

"We talked all season that we don't want to hit our peak early," Flowers said. "We want to continue to play hard and get better every day and toward the conference tournament, and state tournament we want to be hitting our stride and doing everything right."

The Chargers (19-9 overall) recently experienced consecutive setbacks against Freedom Christian and long-time archrival Greenfield in Coastal Plains Independent 1-A/2-A Conference play. WCDS lost to Greenfield on a putback at the buzzer in overtime.

Flowers' team bounced back with an 89-50 rout of CPIC foe Pope John Paul on Monday evening. The Chargers play host to Epiphany on Saturday afternoon.

Unselfish play and balanced scoring have been key ingredients to Wayne Country Day's success this season. Senior point guard Lee Atkinson averages a team-high five assists per game. His ability to know when to attack and when to involve his teammates in the offense makes him a key asset on the court.

Five different Chargers average six or more points per game. The team's blend of reliable shooters, speedy ball handlers and athletic big men pose problems for opposing defenses.

"When they play (unselfishly) it's easy to coach," Flowers said. "We've had some games where that selfishness has been there. They're still high school kids, but when they play unselfish the sky is the limit when they play together."

Atkinson leads the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game and averages just two turnovers a contest. Joel Davis provides 15.1 points and six rebounds, and can score from the perimeter, in the paint and above the rim.

"His athleticism is just unreal," Flowers said of Davis. "You can talk about how athletic he is and watch film, but until you see it up close you don't know. He's tough to guard because he gets to the rim so easy and he can step back and hit shots."

Senior forward Marlon Coley contributes 9.2 points a game. Guards Victor Miller and Kris Cooley both chip in seven points a contest.

Wayne Country Day's aggressive defense depends on tenacious ball pressure to force turnovers which lead to transition opportunities. The Chargers are holding opponents to 57 points a game, and average close to 28 rebounds and 10 steals a night.