The Suffolk Christian Academy boys’ basketball team is taking its growth game by game.

The Knights are currently 2-3 heading into 2018. Coach Michael Anderson returns at the helm for the team and is excited about what the Knights have to offer this season.

“I am feeling pretty good about this team,” he said. “We are really, really young, so this year is about laying a foundation and trying to get better. We want to be competitive and win as many games as we can this season.”

With the schedule the Knights play this season, they will have to bring it every night. They have a challenging schedule while playing in the Hampton Roads Athletic Conference. Anderson believes the Knights can get into that 8- to 10-win range. SCA wants to set small goals and then take baby steps to achieve them.

Leading the Knights right now is Alex Feeney. Anderson and his staff believe that the sky is the limit for him. He possesses speed and athleticism. Matt Leiter is another player who has added production for the Knights. Leiter is a fundamentally sound player who takes care of the ball for the Knights. Logan Puryear is another player who has a developing low-post game.

“We have a lot of young talent, and we hope those guys continue to mature so we can make some noise in the conference,” Anderson said.

With such a young team, Anderson has been pushing his team to keep the intensity high every game. SCA wants to be a defense-minded team that allows its defensive effort to turn into quality offense. Game to game, Anderson and his staff almost motivate their guys to make sure they take care of the ball.

“Defensive intensity and taking care of the basketball are some big things we have been working on,” Anderson said. “We are really pushing our guys to be passionate about what they do.”

Offensively, SCA wants to be opportunistic. If there is a fast-break opportunity, they want to take advantage of it. The Knights prefer to play at an up-tempo pace, but because they are sometimes low on numbers, they slow the pace down and play tough defense.

Over the holiday break, SCA’s players will sharpen their practices. They want to hone in on their skills and fundamentals to make sure they are ready to roll once the new year kicks in. The Knights will start the new year off by taking on the Beach Breakers Jan. 2.