Staying home for the semis: Christian Heritage aims to take advantage of home court in unusual Final Four

Published 8:34 pm Friday, March 5, 2021

When the Christian Heritage School boys basketball team reached the Class A Private Final Four for the first time two seasons ago, they played in the neutral site of the UNG Convocation Center at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega.

This time around, as the Lions try for their first state finals playoff appearance in Georgia High School Association competition, they’ll get the benefit of playing in a home gym sure to be packed with local fans. Christian Heritage (23-3) plays Johns Creek’s Mt. Pisgah Christian (25-6) at home tonight at 7:30 in the Class A Private semifinals.

“It’s just a unique year to be able to have the opportunity to host a Final Four game,” Tyler Watkins, the Christian Heritage head coach said Friday. “Usually it has been in that neutral site. The excitement around campus has been amazing. We just have to take advantage of it.”

Had the Lions reached the state semifinals in any other prior year since 1922, it would have been played at a neutral site. The GHSA made the change this year due to concerns over COVID-19. The Lions got another stroke of luck when the GHSA’s universal coin toss, used to determine the host school in the semifinals in the event of a seeding tie, went the Lions’ way, giving the top seed in Region 7-A Private the hosting nod over Region 6’s Mt. Pisgah.

Christian Heritage has reached the cusp of a state finals berth with a team that starts three freshmen. Luckily, the Lions don’t have to look far to find big-game experience.

The two other starters, seniors Nash Bingham and Evan Lester, were key contributors on that 2019 team that reached the Final Four, with Lester starting.

“We’ve had a great mixture of a great group of seniors that have led all year long to show the younger players how we do things,” Watkins said.

Sometimes, those seniors show by doing.

Bingham got hot and hit five 3-pointers in the Lions’ Sweet 16 win over Athens Academy, and Lester made his impact with 19 points in a 59-54 win over First Presbyterian Day School in the Elite 8.

“If we were going to make a run, he was going to have to play at an elite level, being a senior, and he’s done that for us,” Watkins said of Lester, who has signed to play football at Georgia Southern.

The seniors haven’t been the only ones playing well for the Lions in the playoff run. Freshman Jax Abernathy, who was named Class A Private’s player of the year, scored 23 in the Sweet 16 win and piled up 25 to help pull the Lions over First Presbyterian Wednesday in Macon.

“We’ve just been playing better each and every game,” Watkins said. “To go on the road and win in the Elite 8, you’ve got to be tough.”

In the Final Four, the Lions face a Mt. Pisgah team that lost just one game against Class A Private competition all season. That game came against fellow Region 6 team St. Francis, the defending state champions who are playing in the Final Four on the opposite side of the bracket.

Mt. Pisgah is led by Jojo Peterson, a 6-foot-4 guard that has committed to play Division I college basketball at Purdue University Fort Wayne.

“They’re very talented with a lot of size,” Watkins said. “They’re very well-coached and have a lot of depth. They provide a lot of challenges, but we’ve just got to go out and play Christian Heritage basketball like we have all year long.”

That’s worked pretty well thus far for the Lions as they pursue school history.

“Now’s the best time ever to have a chance to make a state championship game, with us being able to host in the Final Four,” Watkins said. “We’re just really excited to be able to get out there and compete and try to come away with a win.”