Coaches prefer a senior-laden basketball team when they are making a push for a championship. What about 10 seniors? That’s what Matt McGowan has on his bench for Heritage Christian Academy as they return all but one player from last year’s 13-17 team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the Kentucky Christian Athletic Conference Tournament.
McGowan, who is also the girls’ coach at HCA, took over the boys’ team in late January. Although the Warriors were 4-7 down the stretch, they upset Somerset in the KCAA State Tournament.
Gavin Fowler, who was named to the KCAA All-Tournament Team last year, is the leading returning scorer for the Warriors and will look to be more of a facilitator on offense this year.
Rajah Mills is back to run the point and help Fowler facilitate the offense and gets wing help from Austin Crawford.
The Warriors also have their inside bangers back in forwards Josh Jones and Dalton Folz who are both capable of putting up double-doubles every game. Dakota Brake, who saw his minutes gradually increase last season, is already off to a good start inside for the Warriors.
Adding depth and athleticism to the squad are soccer players Lawson Ashby and Lucas Hite.
Heritage Christian got their season off to a good start over the weekend with a 4-1 record and third place finish at the KCAA Tip-Off Classic. However, the Warriors struggled in KCAA play last year and compete in one of the tougher regions in the state. Regular season play will determine seeding in the region tournament and possibly the state tournament if they don’t win the region.
McGowan stops short at saying this is a make or break season for HCA, but given the seniors returning and the bad taste left in their mouths after last year’s ouster, he doesn’t have to.
