Bryce Washington’s inaugural season as interim head coach of Timeline Christian Academy is off to a good start…for now. With so many uncertainties surrounding the TCA Streak, Washington wasn’t sure the time was right to begin thinking about coaching.

With current Coach Tevil J. Hill out due to injuries and a ten-game suspension for arguing with a referee during Summer League, Washington has stepped in with hopes of leading the Streak to its tenth Achievers Conference pennant.

Tonight wasn’t a bad start.

Trent Harris scored 29 points and Keyon Polite added 16 as the Streak used a big fourth quarter to defeat #9 Centre View Academy on the road, 82-49. It was the first game played without Tevil J. Hill on the sidelines and it could be the last game played by Harris, who sustained a cut to his hand during the game.

Dante Freeman had 15 points and 11 boards while Myles Johnson and Jason McKinley scored 11 apiece. The Streak bench went 0-for-15, but did contribute a combined 10 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.

“It’s a start.” Washington said after the game. “I thought our defense pushed them over the edge. To shut that team out on their home court says something.”

The lead was 52-49 before McKinley busted the game open with a hook shot to fire up an 11-0 run to push the lead to 63-49. Back-to-back three-pointers by Polite and dunk by Freeman made it 71-49. McKinley hit a tough floater while Harris drove into the paint to fire up the final 11-0 run to make the score 82-49 at the buzzer.

“J-Mac, D-Free, and KP3 really stepped up. T-Harris was a beast as usual and M.J. is becoming more of shooting guard. (Coach) Hill would be proud of this group and how they performed.”

Still, Washington thinks there’s some work to be done.

“First quarter was horrible. Seven turnovers is unacceptable. We’ll work on it and hopefully we’ll see improvement.”

The Eagles led 25-22 at the end of the first, thanks to 13 points by point guard Alex Andersen. The Streak rallied back by scoring the first ten to make it 32-25 and would eventually lead 40-39 at halftime. A three-point play by SG Mason Willis and a bank shot by Andersen fired up a 10-0 run to make it 49-40 with four minutes to go. The Streak outscored the Eagles 12-0 to lead 52-49 at halftime, thanks in part to a long floater by Johnson.

Harris left the game with 2:25 left remaining in the fourth due to a large cut in the hand. The athletic trainer said he’s expected to recover, but will be forced to miss the upcoming four games per the rules set forth by TCA.

The Streak may not need Harris anytime soon as they gear up to play two of their next four games at home before the Hoops Highlights Tournament.

Former TCA and current Centre View head coach Bob Neilson was called for a technical foul with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Neilson leads the league in techs with an average 11.2 per season.