Defense carries Hilton Head Prep boys in title matchup against Christian Academy

An old adage in almost any sport is that defense wins championships.

Hilton Head Prep proved that Saturday afternoon in a dominating 35-15 victory over Christian Academy to win back-to-back SCISA Class 3A boys basketball state championships.

The Dolphins used an active zone to hold the Saints scoreless for the final 14 minutes. Christian Academy trailed by only one with six minutes left in the third quarter, but Hilton Head Prep scored the final 19 points in claiming the title for the second straight season.

“This is great for the program,” Hilton Head Prep coach Richard Barron said. “It’s a different group of kids every year so it’s special. We have some kids that weren’t even at Prep last year. For others, it validates what they did last year.”

There was sluggish play by both sides in the first half. Neither team looked sharp offensively, and it was deadlocked at 11 at the break.

Hilton Head Prep (20-8) changed that quickly in the third quarter. Ben Frey knocked down a 3-pointer about two minutes into the second half to give the Dolphins a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Dolphins closed the game on a 22-0 run. During that time, Christian Academy (22-9) missed its final 13 shots from the floor and turned over the ball five times.

Barron credited his zone for keeping the Saints out of the lane and having to depend on the perimeter jumper. There wasn’t one offensive rebound by Christian Academy during that stretch.

“We came out the first half a little sluggish and tight,” he said. “It was low-scoring and a defensive struggle. We knew where their shooters were, and we did a good job getting out and contesting. Once we got into that rhythm defensively, it was tough for them to figure out how to score.”

Jason Britschge scored 12 points and manned the middle of that zone. Frey added nine points and Billy Barron chipped in with six points. Even though the point totals weren’t earth-shattering, it was what was being done on the defensive end that made the difference.

“We did a pretty good job with our defense,” Britschge said. “We held them to 15 points and no points in the fourth quarter. That’s what really did it for us.”

Christian Academy coach Marion Busby said his team didn’t attack the zone the proper way.

“We didn’t penetrate and dish or penetrate and kick out,” Busby said. “We were just passing the ball around.”

The Saints were making their first title game appearance since 2015, when they won five state championships in a seven-year stretch. They have a young team that might have been a year ahead of schedule.

Busby, a former Eau Claire High School and College of Charleston standout, said he was proud of his team’s run.

Junior Sabion Sessions and senior Jack Green scored six points each for the Dolphins.

“It means a lot because we’re a young team and we’re trying to build it back up like it was eight or nine years ago when we were making state championships,” Busby said. “We’re happy to be back here. We thought we had a chance to win but we just had a bad second half offensively.”

HHP: Jason Britschge 12, Ben Frey 9, Barron 6, Moore 4, Campbell 3, Patrick 1. Christian Academy: Sessions 6, Green 6, Hall 2, Hendrix 1.

SCISA 3A All Tournament Team: Jason Britschge, Hilton Head Prep; Ben Frey, Hilton Head Prep; Connor Campbell, Hilton Head Prep; Braydon Hendrix, Christian Academy; Sabion Sessions, Christian Academy; Lee Dahlberg, Greenwood Christian

This story was originally published February 24, 2024 at 12:00 AM.