The end of the season for the varsity boys basketball team at New Creation Christian Academy was a bit unexpected, but exactly what the school hoped it would be.

  The Crusaders closed out 2020-2021 with two big wins and a state championship, defeating the two top-ranked teams in the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools’ AAA classification on consecutive nights to take home the title. It was a fabulous end to a season in which the expected COVID-related challenges surfaced, while some other schools probably thought the team was in a rebuilding year.

  The team reached the state quarterfinals the previous year, losing to Cumberland Christian to end the season. Of the top seven players on that squad, two graduated and two others transferred to public schools in Henry County.

  This year saw the players endure a 14-day lockdown in December after three players and two parents tested positive for COVID. “We reduced our schedule greatly,” according to head coach Buck Hunter, citing a major tournament in which he planned to participate but had to withdraw. The Crusaders made up their region games and were able to schedule two other games against out-of-state schools. They finished the regular season with three fewer games than originally scheduled.

  The postseason, however, went the distance. NCCA lost its region championship game 77-75 in overtime to Covenant Academy, a team they split with during the regular season. That put them in a slightly different position bracket-wise going into the state tournament, but Hunter acknowledged that it actually worked out better for them in the long run.

  The Crusaders hosted Griffin Christian in the first round of state for its final game of the season in McDonough in front of the home fans. That was an 84-66 victory. The next round was a 69-47 win over Westminster Christian.

  The state semifinal matchup February 26 was against Calvary Christian, then ranked second in the state. After trailing late, the Crusaders picked up a crucial turnover to tie the game and then won 66-64 on two free throws with three-tenths of a second left.

  The opponent in the championship game was top-ranked Cumberland, who had sent the Crusaders home the previous season. In two regular-season games this year, NCCA lost by 20 on the road in November and by 10 at home in early February.

  The outcome this time could not have been more different. The Crusaders opened up a 35-17 halftime lead and held on for a 67-56 win to take home the crown. Their final record for the season was 21-8.

  The team is graduating three of its top six players. Those young men have contributed to four consecutive 20-win seasons. But Hunter likes what he sees in the remaining squad as well as those coming up from the JV team, which finished its season 15-4.

  “If everybody comes back, we’ll be pretty good, “ he said.