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The 2023-24 boys' basketball season kicked off in earnest on Tuesday evening with 70 high school games played across the state.

In Madison, defending Trailways East Conference champion Central Wisconsin Christian traveled to Trailways South Conference contender Abundant Life Christian for a non-league game. 

After taking a 27-21 halftime lead, Abundant Life came out and scored the first two baskets of the second half, withstood a minor CWC rally that included a two-handed jam by senior Isaac Abel, and then pulled away for good on a three-point play from senior JD Davison that gave the Challengers a 42-28 lead with 9:20 left.

Although not a perfect start to the season, Abundant Life overcame some turnovers and missed shots by limiting CWC to just 23 second-half points with an active 2-3 zone defense. 

"We had a little trouble playing man-to-man defense so we went back to the zone and it worked well in the second half," Abundant Life coach Mike Thies said. "Our man-to-man defense will get better, but it's difficult to get everything ready for a game with just eight days of practice. That's not a long time to get everything in that you want to."

Jacob Koon, 5-10, Jr., G, Abundant Life Christian
The Koon twins, 6-foot-0 junior Jonah and 5-10 junior Jacob, were seemingly everywhere for Abundant Life on both ends of the court. Jonah led the team in scoring with 17 points and went six-for-six from the foul line. And Jacob triggered the Challengers' difficult defensive attack with endless energy and communication on the top of Abundant Life's zone defense. Jacob Koon also contributed 14 points and several assists. "Jacob Koon just kind of took over in the second half on both ends of the floor," Thies said. "His activity was a key part of our victory."

Senior JD Davison is a 6-foot-3 athlete and rebounder/defender for Abundant Life. He can also score in the pick-n-roll. And he did just that with 9 minutes and 20 seconds remaining. Davison's basket and free-throw completed a three-point play that gave the Challengers an insurmountable 42-28 advantage. Davison, a returning first-team all-league performer, finished the contest with just five points, but his presence on defense around the basket altered a lot of shots and he was a big presence on the glass on both ends of the court. 

Abundant Life, which went 19-8 last season and returns five starters, got a big lift from senior Blayne Wall off the bench. After avearging 7.6 points and 2.3 rebounds as a junior, Wall buried two three-point baskets and scored nine points in a reserve role for Challengers. Brayton Breezer and Ethan Rockwell also had strong showings off the bench for Abundant Life. 

"We will switch defenses a lot this year and you saw that tonight. We have some depth on our team. In addition to Blayne, I thought Brayton and Ethan played well. Ethan's basket at the end of the first half was a big momentum builder for us. We have Parkview next Tuesday in our next game on the road, and that will be a big test for our team." -- Abundant Life coach Mike Thies

Central Wisconsin Christian went 22-3 a year ago, but coach Josh Gibbons lost four starters to graduation. The lone returning starter, senior forward Brock Hoekstra, had a difficult time finding the bottom of the basket on Tuesday, but he did score eight points for CWC ... Abel led the Crusaders with 10 points and his physical strength and athleticism figure to be big assets for CWC ... Senior Benn Mbah (6-3) is an extraordinary vertical athlete. His quick jumping ability was a plus for CWC and he finished with five points. 

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