By: Evan Rogers
The fourth game of the day featured a semifinal bout between Word of God and Winston-Salem Christian. The Lions aggressive defense forced Word of God into isolation sets early. 2023 Freddie Dillion momentarily found success for the Holy Rams, swishing a 3-pointer and converting a difficult floater, but Word of God’s offense soon went stagnant. With the Holy Rams struggling to find the bottom of the basket, 2024 Isaiah Washington found his stride in transition to help Winston-Salem Christian open up an 11-point lead. Dillion found success driving to the basket early in the second quarter to help the Holy Rams cut their deficit to single digits. Word of God would continue to chip away, and a late layup by 2023 Isaiah Coleman cut the Lions’ lead to 32-26.
The Holy Rams’ defense started creating more havoc out of the break. In a period that saw the Lions score 13 points, Word of God’s newfound connectedness propelled the Holy Rams in front. Complemented with the arrival of 2023 Mayar Wol — who drilled multiple mid range pull ups and a 3-pointer — Word of God took a 46-45 advantage into the final eight minutes of play. The Holy Rams would slowly build upon their lead, and an acrobatic finish by 2025 Zion Collins stretched Word of God’s advantage to six points. The Lions would fight back, however, as a Washington transition finish cut Winston-Salem Christian’s hole to just one point with two minutes remaining in the game. Moments later, a Lion steal led to a 2024 Kobe George dunk to give Winston-Salem Christian the lead. But a 2023 Davin Crosby Jr. 3-pointer in the final minute of the game gave the Holy Rams the lead for good and Word of God prevailed, 60-57.
Word of God 60 — Winston-Salem Christian 57
Word of God: Freddie Dillione 15 pts/ Mayar Wol 13 pts, 7 reb/ Davin Crosby Jr. 13 pts
Winston-Salem Christian: Isaiah Washington 21 pts/ Kobe George 14 pts, 7 reb/ Lewis Walker 9 pts