Heat on: Liberty Christian basketball turning the corner
High school basketball seasons have resembled more like a roller-coaster since the Liberty Christian Academy boys’ basketball team first started playing in 2015.
The Richlands private school has experienced some challenges as it tried to first establish its program eight years ago, but then went 48-18 from 2018-2020 with two conference tournament titles coming in the latter two years.
Then things dropped back down after the program moved from the N.C. Christian Athletic Conference to the well-established N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association. The Heat won just one game the previous two seasons and had a 25-game losing skid in that stretch.
“Things were bad,” senior Zayne Robinson said.
The players were feeling the “heat” from themselves for not being as successful on the court as they were in previous seasons.
“I was in the tenth grade and I was like, something needs to change,” senior Dylan Bass said.
Things did.
A move to the N.C. Christian School Association certainly helped. But so did the emergence of Randy Blanche, who coached the JV program until he was promoted to head varsity coach in the middle of last season.
Having experienced players such as Robinson, Bass and senior Derek McCallister has benefitted the Heat. The addition of sophomore Tavion Tangiora, a transfer from Swansboro High, has also factored in Liberty Christian’s progress.
Put everything together and the Heat are 12-4 overall following a 53-43 nonconference home win over John Paul II Catholic of Greenville on Monday night.
Liberty is also 4-1 in the AA East Region 4 conference, one game behind Living Water.
“We have good players and we have come together to build a pretty good team,” Bass said. “We have built up the chemistry and we have played together well. Having good coaches have helped.”
Like Living Water Christian in Jacksonville, Liberty Christian has been the topic of recruiting accusations from some outside of the private school realm.
Tangiora, who has missed the last three games with an injury, is one of those players who moved into the school after a successful freshman season last year at Swansboro where he averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game to help the Pirates earn their first playoff trip since 2008.
He averages 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds this season.
But Liberty does not recruit, Blanche said.
“What we do here at Liberty is hold a lot of open gyms for the kids to come in and play and a lot of kids see how we interact with the other kids and they think about coming here,” he said. “So, the program speaks for itself. But we don’t recruit anybody. We do accept kids who enroll into this school to play as long as they come here with school in mind first.”
Bass and Robinson are two players in particular who enjoy how things have recently been with the Heat. They both have been enrolled in the school since the seventh grade and have watched the program climb, fall and rise again.
“They have experienced a lot,” Blanche said. “This is their last year and they are doing the best they can to help lead us. They know what to expect and their leadership is one thing that helps us.”
Bass averages 13.3 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals while Robinson averages 11 points and 7.6 rebounds. Junior Talan Evans is also a reliable player with 8.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.3 steals while McCallister and sophomore Luke Cavanaugh also contribute.
Liberty Christian’s only defeats this season are to Harrells Christian (19-2), Living Water Christian (11-9), Trask (15-4) and last week to John Paul II (10-8).
“We have a good mixture of kids,” Blanche said.
It is a mix that all gets along, Robinson added.
“We spend time with each other on and off the court," he said. "We are a close team and we build off that chemistry.”
After Tuesday’s home game against Wilmington Christian, the Heat host Wilson Christian Academy on Friday as it looks to stay in contention for a conference title.
“We are trying to win the rest of our games and win a championship,” Bass said. “We need to stay focused.”
Chris Miller can be contacted via email at cmiller@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @jdnsports.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Liberty Christian basketball goes from one win to conference contender
