RECHARGING: Knights taking it easy

Published 7:52 pm Friday, January 1, 2016

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS SPEED GAME: Messiah Barnes shows off his quickness with a fast break in a game earlier this season. The holiday layoff has been valuable for simply resting and recharging after playing a lot of games in the first half of the season.

MICHAEL PRUNKA | DAILY NEWS
SPEED GAME: Messiah Barnes shows off his quickness with a fast break in a game earlier this season. The holiday layoff has been valuable for simply resting and recharging after playing a lot of games in the first half of the season.

PANTEGO — Terra Ceia had won its first dozen games of the season as the Christmas layoff approached. Before the Knights could take off for the holidays, they were slated to compete in the Northside and Greenfield Christmas Tournaments.

The holiday contests resulted in four losses for them. While it may have hurt their record, that’s about the only damage done. Terra Ceia got to take on some stout competition, starting with Northside. Greenfield, North Raleigh Christian Academy and Harrels Christian Academy were all excellent challenges, too.

The Knights faced internal tests at Greenfield, too. Austin Roscoe had pneumonia and couldn’t play at Greenfield. It was a setback in depth because they only have eight players on the roster. There were changes that had to be made because of his absence. For example, the team had to get used to someone else carrying the ball in bounds, which caused some confusion.

It was a hurdle that the team had been preparing for all season. Every player has seen significant game time. When they knew they wouldn’t have Roscoe, coach Roger Klaassen simply asked the team who would be the next person to step up.

All in all, though, it was a positive experience.

“By the last game, I was happy with where we had gotten to and the way they played the last game,” Klaassen said. “By that last game, we finally decided we can compete. They did in the last game. They played a lot better.”

That was the objective of the holiday schedule. Klaassen wanted to take on top-notch talent to prove the Knights can hang with the best.

The Knights welcomed the holiday rest. They played four games in less than a week heading into it and have played 16 times since opening the season on Nov. 12.

“We had several three-game weeks,” Klaassen said. “It’s good to have a break and be away from everybody for a while, get back, get refocused and recharged. I wouldn’t have liked to go two weeks without playing or anything. Playing that tournament, I think, was a good thing.”

Upon stepping back and analyzing the first half of the season, that grueling first half emphasized the need for mental toughness.

“You can’t have a time during those 32 minutes where you’re not thinking,” Klaassen said. “You’ve got to think the game totally.”

The experience will be worth it once Terra Ceia returns from its brief hiatus. The season starts back up with a four-game road stretch, starting at Northeast Academy on Jan. 5. The Knights will also play two sets of back-to-back games before the end of the regular season.

“The reason I played it is to get better at what we’re doing,” Klaassen said. “(I wanted) to see where we could get to and push on from there. I think good things lie ahead of us.”

The ultimate goal of a conference title has not changed. In fact, not much has changed. Klaassen said that the team’s shooting needs to improve. The Knights started their campaign strong in that regard. As of late, though, their shots haven’t been dropping at the same rate.

There have been a few tweaks made to the defense. Klaassen has added different wrinkles to the press. The Knights also played man-to-man defense for almost the entire game against Harrells. That experience gives more weapons for the team’s defense to work with.

“It’s basically high pressure and let’s roll,” Klaassen said.