Skipjacks top Northern Virginia, St. Mary’s JV
WYE MILLS – Resiliency is an important attribute for a team that wants to make a long playoff run. Chesapeake College showed that trait for the second time in as many games Thursday night, improving to 2-0 since a knee injury sidelined sophomore standout Jimmie Jenkins.
The host Skipjacks (15-9) topped the St. Mary's College junior varsity, 81-76, Thursday night as Akanni Salako scored 23 points and set the school's single-season record for 3-pointers made. The triumph, one night after a critical road victory at region rival Northern Virginia Community College, clinched Chesapeake's second consecutive winning season.
Salako made five 3-pointers, giving him 71 for the season to break the school record of 69. Justin May had 18 points and nine assists while matching Salako's five treys and Geran Pope posted another double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Last season, in Joel Dearring's second year at the helm, Chesapeake snapped a streak of three straight losing campaigns under three different head coaches. The Skipjacks are 32-20 over the last two seasons and headed in the right direction, according to Dearring.
"That's how you build programs," said Dearring, who credited assistant coaches Allen Mitchell and Raphael McNeal with playing critical roles in the program's development. "You have to get your foundation in place. Our goal here is to get to the point where we are competing on a national level."
Jenkins – the team's leading scorer – is out indefinitely, with an MRI scheduled for Friday. Dearring said the Skipjacks would love to have him back for the postseason, but aim to be competitive with or without their leader.
"The key to a championship team is the unit, not individuals," said Dearring. "We're finding ways to win, even when we're winning ugly. Everybody's contributing, which is what has to happen."
St. Mary's broke out to an early 11-4 lead, but the Skipjacks caught their guests midway through the first half. May hit a 3-point jumper to put Chesapeake ahead to stay, 26-23, and then turned a steal into a three-point play that gave the Skipjacks a 29-23 lead. Jeff Rogers then buried a 3-pointer as Chesapeake stretched its advantage to 32-23.
The Skipjacks play at CCBC-Essex Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest to complete their conference schedule. Chesapeake will host a first-round game in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference tournament next Tuesday at 7 p.m. against an as-yet-undetermined opponent.
Chesapeake College 100, No. Va. 89
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Chad Church had 29 points and 13 rebounds, both team highs, as the Skipjacks reached the 100-point mark for the 10th time this season on Wednesday night.
"Chad was on fire," said Chesapeake head coach Joel Dearring. "If we are going to win in the postseason, Chad has to produce like he did against Northern Virginia. He knew it was a big game and he was on."
Kevin Bonsu, originally from Northern Virginia, also had a double-double for the Skipjacks with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
"Kevin said he lives about 10 or 15 minutes from where we played," noted Dearring. "He gave us a strong performance."
Louis Simpson (16 points) and Geran Pope (10 points, nine rebounds) also reached double digits for Chesapeake. Dion Bivens was nearly the fifth Skipjack in double figures, finishing with nine points and four rebounds.
Northern Virginia (10-11) lost its fourth straight.
Women now 18th in nation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Chesapeake College moved up a spot in the NJCAA Division II women's basketball national rankings for the second straight week, moving to 18th in the poll released on Wednesday.
The Skipjacks (16-1) have won seven straight. They host Prince George's Community College Saturday night at 7 p.m. to close the regular season.
Chesapeake will open its state tournament title defense next Thursday as the second seed in the 12-team event behind host Harford Community College, which handed the Skipjacks their only loss to date this season. The Skipjacks, also reigning NJCAA Division II Region XX champs, are expected to be the top seed when they defend that title March 1-3 at Frederick Community College.