Chattanooga Christian School boys' basketball coach Eddie Salter sees the bigger picture, and after Friday night's 16-point victory, he wanted his players to see it, too.
That's why Salter kept them in the locker room a little longer after the game to deliver a message about playing consistently for all four quarters.
After leading by 23 points at halftime, the Chargers defeated host Silverdale Baptist Academy 60-44 in a Division II-A East District 2 matchup. While Salter admitted that a win is always great, he knows he needs more from his players - who made it to the state quarterfinals last season - to reach the team's goal.
"We're not consistent in our play," Salter said. "We do things great for a while, then we get lackadaisical and too comfortable with the lead. We have to get a sense of urgency. To get to where we want to go, we can't keep playing that way."
CCS (5-3, 1-0) certainly came out with a sense of urgency to start the game, racing out to an 18-4 lead after one quarter. The Chargers controlled the tempo throughout the first half, using a suffocating half-court trap defense to lead to fast-break opportunities on offense and hurried shots for the Seahawks (2-9, 0-3).
"Our defense in the first half really made them do things that were uncomfortable for them," Salter said. "I liked how we pushed the ball ahead on offense, as well as our ball movement and shot selection."
The second quarter belonged to post player Michael Houge, who came off the bench and dominated the paint. Houge scored 10 in the period and led the Chargers with 13 for the game as CCS had a commanding 37-14 halftime lead.
The Seahawks, who lost seven seniors from last year's team, came out of halftime much more poised. After falling behind by 26 early in the third period, Silverdale outscored the Chargers 28-18 over the final 18 minutes of the game.
"I'm not big into moral victories, but I thought our guys competed very well," Seahawks coach Slater Belew said. "I thought the first half we came out a little intimidated. We settled down in the second half and played more our style. We only played one senior tonight. I love our heart and feel like the future is very bright."
Graham Kelley led Silverdale with 13 points, while Ben Bambrey chipped in 11. John Rhodes scored 12 for CCS.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.