City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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MORRISVILLE — The legacy that Khamai Orange and Beau Lyren wanted to leave at Delaware County Christian School involved a few factors. Winning, of course, is a significant aspect, along with leadership and other community factors important to the small Newtown Square private school. 

Until this weekend, the pair had checked off just about every box, except one significant one: a trophy. They’d lost in the District 1 championship game three straight years, in the BAL last season, the first such appearance in program history. They’d stacked up wins in the regular season, but the postseason had been a different story.

“They want to leave school with some things, leave a legacy,” Delco Christian coach Reggie Parks said. “Part of it is going to be the hardware we get.”

From that standpoint, their impact is just starting to get written. Orange and Lyren helped Delco Christian earn some well-deserved hardware on Saturday afternoon, the pair of seniors leading the way as the top-seeded Knights knocked off No. 2 seed Chester Charter, 72-52, in the Bicentennial Athletic League championship game at Morrisville High School. 

Legacy matters to Orange and Lyren, who’ve both been at Delco Christian since before first grade, spending the last 13 years in classrooms and on the hardcourt together. The Knights have been plenty competitive during the last couple decades, with 10 different state tournament appearances in that span.

But since the school joined the Bicentennial and PIAA in 2004-05, they hadn’t won a league championship. Until Saturday afternoon.

“The coaches harp on the DC basketball legacy a lot,” Lyren said, “and having the opportunity to do it for the first time, it means a lot.

“It’s nowhere near the end of our journey,” he added, “but it’s a great stepping stone.”

They weren’t the only ones who brought some history back to the school that afternoon. Delco Christian’s girls went on to capture their first league title as well, beating Renaissance Academy 53-36. The two teams watched each other’s games and supported one another, posing for a combined dual-trophy photo afterwards. 

Delco Christian's boys and girls teams celebrate their dual BAL championships. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

“It feels really good,” Orange said. “We both lost last year, both first-time appearances last year. We both could have won the games. It’s great to have us both win on the same day, we both have very bright futures when it comes to districts.”

Orange and Lyren were both outstanding in the championship, combining for 39 points to lead the Knights (23-2) to their ninth straight win overall. Orange led the way with 24 points, the 6-foot-3 guard adding 14 rebounds, four steals and three assists. 

Lyren scored 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out six assists. Also 6-3, he played a big part in keeping Delco Christian calm, cool and collected amongst the havoc that Chester Charter tries to create with its full-court press and playing in constant attack mode. 

“Our coaches harped on how they’re a team of runs, they’re going to throw haymakers and make runs, so we have to stay poised, take those runs and make our own, and that’s what we did, we stayed poised,” he said. “They made their run, kudos to them, they’re a tough team, they push the ball, make shots. I’m just proud of our guys for their resilience and taking that run and just not backing down.”

That run from Chester Charter came after Delco Christian scored the first five points of the third quarter to open up a 37-27 advantage. The Sabres (20-5) scored the next 10, getting a couple steal-and-layups from senior guard Josiah Hutson (15 points) to tie it up. 

But the Knights responded, in the biggest way. A 21-5 run that went the remainder of the third quarter all but slammed the door shut. Orange and Lyren both connected on 3-pointers, junior forward Bradford Berwick (8 points, 10 rebounds) added a bucket and Orange ended the quarter with a three-quarter-court pass to a wide-open Atty Abobi for a layup. 

The fourth quarter didn’t provide much in terms of drama, save for Orange’s getting fouled hard on a drive to the hoop, laying on the ground for a couple minutes, going to a trash can to throw up — and then calmly knocking down two foul shots to make it a 20-point game with 4:30 remaining. 

“I hit the ground, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can get up, you’ll have to give me a minute,’” he said. “And then all the liquids just came up. Hitting the foul shots was good, easy points.”

While the seniors closed it out, the Knights got a big boost earlier from sophomore Karter Freeman. The 6-3 wing scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, with seven of his points coming during a key second-quarter spurt to keep Delco Christian in it amidst the chaos.

“Unsung hero, man,” Parks said. “He does all the dirty work for us, he contributes every single game for us. And he’s only a sophomore. The sky’s the limit for that kid.”

The Knights didn’t have a big celebration at the buzzer. There was a brief moment of jumping and shouting when Lyren presented his teammates with the trophy, but otherwise it was clear Delco Christian already had bigger things in mind. 

After losing to Dock Mennonite in last year’s BAL and District 1 2A championship games, the Knights have had their Pioneers in their targets. Delco Christian will first need to get past Calvary Christian in the 2A semifinals (Tues., 6:00 PM) and hope Dock does the same with Church Farm. They also have eyes on a state playoff run, the program having never made it further than the quarterfinals, accomplished that first year of eligibility in 2006.

Chester Charter will continue in the District 1 Class A tournament, playing Plumstead Christian on Tuesday at 5:30 PM. 

By Quarter
DCCS: 13  |  19  |  26  |  14  ||  72
CCSA: 15  |  12  |  15  |  10  ||  52

Shooting
DCCS: 24-51 FG (6-21 3PT), 18-23 FT
CCSA: 18-72 FG (4-22 3PT), 12-17 FT

Scoring
DCCS: Khamai Orange 24, Beau Lyren 15, Karter Freeman 13, Bradford Berwick 8, Laverne Sambola 5, Joel Johnson 4, Atty Abobo 2, Carter Dill 1

CCSA: Jah Sabb 20, Josiah Hutson 15, Nieem Gregory 10, Maurice Barnes 4, Zion Robinson 3