The postseason has a different weight to it. Every possession sharpens. Every mistake magnifies. Every run can define a season.
So far, the Crusaders are embracing that pressure.
Harrells Christian Academy opened its NCISAA state playoff run with a dominant 93-32 victory over Epiphany, then followed it up Thursday night with a 107-78 offensive showcase against Freedom Christian Academy. Two wins. Two statements. And now, a return trip to Burlington with redemption on the line.
First Round
Antonio McKoy wasted no time setting the tone in the opening round. He scored the game’s first points on a putback in the post. After Epiphany’s Thomas Lathan answered to tie it and briefly helped the Falcons take a 4-2 edge, McKoy responded with a midrange jumper, then stole a pass and finished with a thunderous tomahawk dunk that ignited the gym.
Epiphany exchanged baskets early, but once Harrells extended its three-quarter-court press, the momentum shifted decisively. Live-ball turnovers turned into highlight-reel finishes.
Dashaun McKoy joined the aerial display, finishing multiple dunks off assists from J’Kaeshi Brunson as the Crusaders’ lead ballooned to 28-8 by the end of the first quarter.
“That’s our calling card a lot,” head coach Clayton Hall explained. “We like to speed games up. Either our full-court press or our half-court press, that’s what we do. The game wasn’t moving really fast the first four minutes, so I decided to go to that and try to speed it up.”
Speed it up they did.
Antonio McKoy opened the second quarter with another midrange make. A three-pointer from Josiah Crumpler followed. Brunson converted in transition. Amir Moore scored on the block to push the margin to 39-10. A stretch of turnovers and fast-break dunks stretched the advantage to 58-14 midway through the second.
Colten Harrell drilled a corner three off a Moore assist, and the Crusaders entered halftime ahead 64-15.
“I always tell them, if you can dunk the ball, go dunk the ball,” Hall said with a grin. “People won’t admit it, but it’s a momentum play. You want to play defense a little bit harder after a dunk. So if they’re ever close and they can dunk it, I tell them to try and dunk it for sure.”
The starters continued to build the lead early in the third before Hall turned things over to the second unit — affectionately known as the “Green Team.” Colten Harrell, Crumpler and Jeremiah Davis kept the pace high as the running clock ticked away in the 93-32 victory.
“The green team, all the time, they give us good looks in practice,” Hall said. “It means a lot to see them move in and execute our stuff, move the ball, make open shots. I’m really excited and happy for them. Really happy for every one of our players.”
For Epiphany head coach James Taylor, the score did not diminish his pride.
“They always give their best effort,” Taylor said. “We’ve got seniors on this team — one guy who’d never played before was out there the last three minutes. They’ve worked hard all four years. As a school and program, we’re definitely proud of them.”
Taylor reflected on the growth of his program.
“We’ve improved over the years,” he noted. “Tonight wasn’t our best showing, but they all worked hard. Our juniors are going to come back next year and hopefully be ready. All the credit in the world to Harrells though. They’re a buzzsaw of a team.”
Following the game, senior guard Dashaun McKoy was presented with a commemorative basketball in recognition of surpassing 2,000 career points — a milestone achievement in the midst of a championship chase.
Second Round
If the first round was about suffocating defense and depth, the second was about offensive precision.
Harrells erupted for 107 points in a 107-78 victory over Freedom Christian Academy, a team that features the state’s leading scorer, Carson Sweeney.
“They’ve got the leading scorer in the state, public or private — Sweeney,” Hall said. “He’s lights out. If he was six foot, he’d be a Division I prospect.”
Freedom prefers to play fast, but Hall believed the matchup favored Harrells’ size and depth.
“They don’t have much size, so they try to get up and down quick,” Hall explained. “We emphasized that even more, especially after made baskets. When we play at a higher number of possessions, we’ve got better opportunities to score just based off our size. So we put an emphasis on pushing the ball, getting easy buckets, layups at the other end.”
The Crusaders shot over 50 percent from the field, fueled by a 44-point explosion from Antonio McKoy.
“He’s quite the scoring phenomenon,” Hall remarked. “He might have been held under 20 points in one game this year — that’s it.”
The bigger picture makes the moment even more remarkable.
“I think he’s about 40-some points away from scoring 3,000 points in his high school career,” Hall said. “Only four people in the entire state of North Carolina, at any level of varsity basketball, have done that. It’s just amazing to see and watch. It’s something I’ll never see again in my life.”
Dashaun McKoy recorded a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double, as well as Moore with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Brunson flirted with one of his own. But Hall emphasized that championships demand balance.
“Dada (Dashaun McKoy) and Antonio do the bulk of the scoring,” Hall said. “But when Moose (Amir Moore) scores 10-plus, I don’t think we’ve been beaten. If Kaeshi (J’Kaeshi Brunson) gives us six to eight, that’s huge. The support cast is making open shots. Two or three threes might not look big in the stat book, but it forces people to stop helping off to try and stop Antonio or Dada. The kids have done a really good job in their roles.”
A rematch in Burlington
Now comes the test.
Harrells travels today to face The Burlington School Spartans — the very team that ended its title hopes last season.
“One hundred percent,” Hall said when asked if the memory lingers. “We led by 10 points in the third quarter last year. Then we had a meltdown. We picked a heck of a time to play our worst game of the year. Turned it over a bunch. Just didn’t play like ourselves.”
He did not hide the sting.
“We left that gym last year with a really bad taste in our mouth,” Hall admitted. “I’m hoping those kids — and I know I do — want to head up there Saturday and give them our best game, which we failed to do last year.”
While Burlington enters rested after a double-bye, Harrells believes rhythm could be an advantage.
“It’s kind of kept us in our rhythm,” Hall said. “It’s tough sometimes when you sit out a whole week and don’t play a game at this junction in the year.”
Two games into the playoffs, the Crusaders have showcased suffocating pressure, highlight-reel athleticism, historic scoring and depth from top to bottom.
Now, the mission becomes clearer.
Harrells is not just advancing.
The Crusaders are chasing redemption.