Chattanooga Christian School provided Silverdale Baptist Academy the opportunity to take aim at sole possession of first place in the TSSAA Division II-A East District 2 boys' basketball standings with its most recent performance before Thursday's game at CCS. But the Seahawks' opportunity didn't last long.
An overwhelming 27-point second quarter that included a run of 13 consecutive points led to Silverdale's downfall in a close game early on as the Chargers ended up cruising to a 71-47 victory.
CCS (14-4, 4-1) was coasting along undefeated in the district before league opponent Notre Dame came to CCS last Friday and handed the Chargers a 58-45 loss. Thursday's game marked the first time they'd played since.
"We had to get refocused," CCS coach Eddie Salter said, "especially on the defensive end."
Both district losses for Silverdale (7-9, 3-2) have come at the hands of the Chargers. The first was 54-50 Dec. 5 at Silverdale.
"Amos Davenport didn't play last time," Silverdale coach Slater Belew said of the CCS guard who scored 11 points, including three first-half 3-point goals, on Thursday. "He definitely played well. But I think it was just our effort and mindset this game. It was different last game than this game."
The Seahawks scored the first six points and led most of the first quarter. But it ended with CCS on top 15-12, thanks to John Rhodes connecting from a little behind halfcourt at the buzzer.
Less than two minutes later, with the game tied, Davenport's third 3 started the run that led to the Chargers taking a 31-18 lead. They led by 22 at halftime.
"We stepped it up on the defensive end," Salter said. "Ian Johnson had a lot of points on us at their place, so we had to change some things this time. We had to get them out of their halfcourt game.
"It's the little things that get you over the hump, like a steal, a dunk or a 50-footer. That's what creates the pendulum swings. They scored at the buzzer right before half in the other game and rode that for a while."
Belew said he challenged his players at halftime to come out and compete in the second half and was pleased that they responded by outscoring CCS 14-10 in the third quarter. But the damage had already been done.
"When we play four quarters, we play pretty good basketball," Belew said. "We thought after a decent first quarter we could just let the gas off, but you have to keep on going. CCS has a good team."
Rhodes led the Chargers with 20 points before exiting the game with most of the other starters with 5:07 to play. Mondo Ellison added 12, with 10 coming in the second half.
Johnson paced Silverdale with 12 points. Five other Seahawks had at least five points, with Caleb Keylon's eight the most among them.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.