Wayne Christian boys' basketball defeats Faith Christian in season opener

By Brandon Davis
Published in Sports on November 13, 2015 1:48 PM

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bdavis@newsargus.com

The end of a 25-year basketball drought between rivals Wayne Christian Academy and Faith Christian Academy produced a memorable alley-oop, a brickwall-like senior center and a fast-paced, adrenaline-rushed game on Thursday night.

The Eagles soared to an 87-60 win.

Wayne Christian's Darrian Oates scored on drives to the basket twice in the opening minute. Josiah Simmons assisted Oates on a pair of field goals, but the assist of the night came from Oates himself.

In the third quarter, Oates and Osi Amaefuler ran the court in transition, and Oates lofted the ball in the air. Amaefuler's arm went back for the catch and he slammed the ball down for the first alley-oop of the game.

"Any time it's a cross-town rivalry, you can expect anything," Wayne Christian head coach Victor Young said. "We're like the Duke and Carolina rivalry. It's never going to be a blowout. It's always going to be close."

The Eagles led halftime by nine points, but Conquerors senior center Christian Mills defended the basket, which stifled the Eagles' offense.

"Number 21 (Mills) was tough," Young said. "He was solid as a rock. He was punching my guys, and I told my guards to take it personally.

Point guard Ty McClain threw to Amaefuler for a drive and a dunk in the fourth quarter. Brandon Cowan added a late 3-pointer.

Faith Christian couldn't answer.

"We couldn't compete with the quickness," Conquerors head coach Stephen Hardison said. "They (Eagles) hustled more than we did. I know they did. I think they wanted it more than we did.

"We're ten minutes down the road. We haven't played them in 25 years. It feels good to be back here."

Mills ended the game with 17 points. Ethan Glover had 12 points, while David Parrish recorded 11 points.

Oates led the Eagles with 21 points. Amaefuler had 14 points and Jaxon Anderson collected 15 points.

Wayne Christian (1-0 overall) plays host to Cresset Christian next Tuesday, while Faith Christian (0-1 overall) travels to Trinity Christian the same night.