By Joe Cockrell
Special to the News-Herald

First Baptist Christian School celebrated its fourth annual homecoming with a 44-38 varsity boys basketball win over Chesapeake Bay Academy on Saturday.

The visiting Dolphins from Chesapeake Bay jumped to an early 10-7 lead as athletic forward Trevor Holmes scored eight points from both inside and outside.

Led by seniors Mike Harville and MarQuis Lassiter, First Baptist used an aggressive defense to create turnovers and rallied behind three straight baskets from forward Nathan VanDorn to take the lead back in the second period.

The Crusaders’ aggressive play came at a price, as they accumulated 15 team fouls, but Chesapeake Bay struggled at the free throw line, shooting under 30 percent. First Baptist led 22-16 at the half.

First Baptist extended the lead, with five different players scoring in the third period. After free throws by VanDorn and Harville, the Crusader lead stretched to 35-22.

However, Holmes then scored eight straight points to cut the lead to five. The remainder of the game was a test of survival, as both teams struggled with turnovers and foul problems.

Senior Cole Martin drew a charge from Chesapeake Bay point guard Jack Wagner, which was his fifth foul. With Wagner gone, Holmes was the only offensive threat, and the Crusader defense collapsed on him to keep the Dolphins from coming any closer than three in the final minutes.

VanDorn and Harville had 12 and 10 points, respectively, to lead First Baptist. Holmes led Chesapeake Bay with 29. Eight different Crusaders scored in a balanced attack.

Assistant Coach Ray Brown was ecstatic after the win.

“In a season of rebuilding, we finally have developed our skill set and our endurance to the point where we are able to fight hard for victory,” he said.

“We feel like this is a new era for our program. It’s easy to coach a team when everything is going well. We’ve gone through some tough times, and this win was incredibly satisfying and uplifting for the team and the school.”