Strawberry Crest hosted the Chamberlain Chiefs on Tuesday night, coming away with a 67-52 victory to remain undefeated and move to 3-0 in the young season.
Led by their top-scoring trio of senior Jasiah Taylor and juniors Jordan Lewis and K.J. Canady Jr., the Chargers jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter and built on it in the second to take a 39-22 lead into halftime.
Strawberry Crest continued to cruise early in the second half before Chamberlain caught fire, outscoring the Chargers 21-10 in the third quarter and cutting the deficit to just six as the fourth quarter began. Despite the courageous comeback attempt, Strawberry Crest stood tall and didn’t let the Chiefs’ run ever put their potential victory in question, pulling away for a 15-point lead and their first double-digit win of the year.
“We’re playing okay, but we still have to get better,” head coach Andre Lewis said. “We’re still learning the game as well as learning how to win games.”
After finishing under .500 the last two seasons — going 1-25 in the 2019-2020 season before bouncing back to 9-15 in the 2020-2021 season — the Chargers have started red hot this year, on the back of an experienced roster that features just one underclassman.
Jordan Lewis has led the Chargers’ scoring efforts through three games, averaging 18.3 points per game behind 19 points and 57 percent shooting from the field against Chamberlain. After Jordan Lewis, Canady has averaged 16 points per game and Taylor raised his average to 13.6 points per game with a team-high 20 points on Tuesday.
“We were young,” Lewis said about what makes the team different than the one on the court the past two seasons. “Those freshmen are juniors now and they’ve helped buy into the system. So it’s nothing but up from here.”
Despite the fast start, the Chargers’ early wins may build confidence but could ultimately mean little if their winning ways can’t translate to district play. Strawberry Crest will open a string of district games this week, starting with Armwood before taking on Tampa Bay Tech on Friday and Hillsborough next Tuesday.
“We can be good,” Lewis said. “Even with our lack of size, we can be good because of our defensive pressure and our shooting ability.”