Top NC State recruit leads Christ School to bracket title at John Wall Holiday Invitational

Zymicah Wilkins picked up his second foul with 56.3 seconds remaining in the first quarter of Saturday’s T.J. Warren bracket final of the John Wall Holiday Invitational.

Wilkins, an N.C. State recruit, and his Christ School (Arden) teammates still made a solid impression on the crowd in Broughton’s Holliday Gymnasium, where the Greenies defeated Grace Christian of Raleigh, 67-31, to claim the school’s second Invitational title in six appearances.

Christ School, the reigning N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 4A state champion, improved to 12-0 with the win. The Greenies led 15-7 when Wilkins exited with two fouls, 17-7 after one quarter, and 23-12 when Wilkins returned at the second quarter’s 5:32 mark. Koen Booker, a 6-6 sophomore, stepped in for Wilkins, contributed to his team’s net positive scoring impact during Wilkins’ respite, and finished with seven points and five rebounds.

“We’ve been pushing, and kind of asking guys to step up when opportunities present themselves, and he did,” Christ School coach Josh Coley said of Booker. There, too, was all-tournament team member Madden Collins (an American University signee), who converted 6 of 8 field goals among his 14 points to go with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

“He was able to kind of level the ship a little bit, and keep the guys steady,” Coley said of Collins.

The Greenies had a comfortable 20-point lead (37-17) at halftime, and built scoring advantages in the third and fourth quarters while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field for the game. Christ School committed just nine turnovers a day after the Greenies tallied seven. The Eagles (9-13) had 20 turnovers, approximately double Friday’s total.

“We knew coming into it that we needed to limit them to one shot,” Grace Christian coach DeShannon Morris said. “You’re going to have some games like this — where you turn the ball over, and a team just shoots an obscene percentage from the field. They were getting quality shots.”

Wilkins was far from done. The 6-9 pivot man converted 8 of 10 field goals for a game-high 19 points, and corralled seven more rebounds en route to MVP honors. Wilkins had just one turnover in two tournament games.

“I couldn’t bump,” Wilkins said of being in foul trouble. “I just had to pick my spots on the court where I wanted to get the ball.”

Dacen Petty chipped in 14 points for the Greenies. Michael Phillips II (15 points), Grace Christian’s 6-7 all-tournament wing bound for Marquette, was limited to just nine field goal attempts — approximately half his normal output.

C.J. Rosser (Northern Nash) and Isaiah Green (Knightdale) were named to the all-tournament team as well.