Chattanooga Christian’s Coleman Dirkse (30) shoots over Grace Academy’s Dave Baker (34) in first half action. CCS wins 63-42.David Conrady watched his Chattanooga Christian basketball team warm up before its game against Grace Academy on Thursday and didn’t like what he saw.
But there was nothing he could do about one player on crutches, another in a walking boot and a third missing because his ankle injury won’t be diagnosed until today.
Ryan Rhodes, John Rhodes and David Archer – three of the Chargers’ best players – all missed the game.
It didn’t matter. CCS rolled the Golden Eagles 63-42 and improved to 9-1 for the season.
“The guys that played stepped up and did a tremendous job,” Conrady said. “Will Patton and Coleman Dirkse played too many minutes and were asked to do so much stuff, and they didn’t back down. We’re not good enough to do it with one man; we have to do it by community.
“Tonight the team stepped up and really played well.”
Ryan Rhodes is out with a stress fracture. John Rhodes is out with a high ankle sprain.
“We’d look a lot different if we were healthy,” Conrady said. “We’re playing a freshman at point guard and starting a sophomore on the wing, and our depth has taken a hit with Ryan – our leading scorer, rebounder and assist man – on the bench.
“We look different, but we still have to play.”
Patton led the Chargers with 19 points. Ben Moore added 12 and Dirkse scored 11.
“The scoring has to come from different places,” Patton said. “It’s hard to replace those guys. But I think we stepped up to the challenge tonight.”
Grace Academy fell to 2-4 and will not play again until Jan. 5 in a rematch with the Chargers. The Golden Eagles were led in scoring by 15 points from Zach Miller and 14 from Jared Roberts. They combined to score all but 13 of Grace’s points.
“We’re very inexperienced and young and we have a lot to learn,” Grace coach Jon Mattheiss said. “When you play somebody better than you, they point out your weaknesses. While you never want to lose, at least it’s helpful, and hopefully we learn something from this.”
Grace never led and trailed by 10 points early in the second quarter. CCS owned a 33-22 lead at halftime and went on a 15-9 run in the third quarter, and a stall tactic in the fourth quarter ensured the victory.
“When you get down 15 points, you have to throw caution to the wind,” Mattheiss said. “But you don’t want to be foolish.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP