DELTONA — A play here. Two turnovers there. Sprinkle in another 3-pointer or layup, and Trinity Christian could have 20 wins this season.

Or more.

The Eagles have eight losses, and five of them have come by four points or less. The margin for a sixth was six points.

They’ve competed in close contests all winter. Now is the time of year that experience pays off, especially for an otherwise green team like coach Tyrhon Crawford has. It rosters just three seniors. Only one starts.

Trinity Christian kicked off the postseason by tackling Warner Christian 70-38 during the first round of the District 6-2A Tournament Tuesday. Its 18 wins represent the program’s best since 22 in 2016-17.

“I just think they bought in and they believe in each other,” said Crawford, TCA’s third-year coach. “Not that the other groups haven’t believed in each other. But this is a young group. They’re all young and dumb, if that’s the right terminology.”

He laughed.

Translation: They don’t have as many veterans as some other local teams. But they believe. And they’re fearless.

Dating back to Jan. 13, the Eagles have claimed nine of their last 11 games. They entered the district bracket as the fourth seed and the event’s host.

“I told the guys in the locker room (before the Warner Christian game), ‘If we play our heart out, I feel like we can win the whole thing,’” junior Tehriq Crawford said. “That’s what they did, and I’m really proud of them for that ... Really just playing to our potential.”

Tehriq Crawford scored nine points Tuesday. Senior Bryan Monserrate paced the squad with 11 points. Sophomore Quentin Berry had 10. But all nine players that suited up recorded at least one point.

“I don’t think we have a guy,” Tyrhon Crawford said. “It’s almost like the pit crew. If it’s a tire out, then the guy that’s in charge of the tire, it’s his job. If it’s oil, it’s the guy in charge of oil.”

That helps, too, because opponents can’t key in on one player. Sometimes, Tehriq Crawford and Berry’s shots are falling. Other times, Monserrate or freshman Jayden Strader step up.

It doesn’t matter as long as the wins keep stacking.

Trinity Christian will face No. 1 Mount Dora Christian at 7 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals.

“I’m appreciative that they’ve relied on each other,” Tyrhon Crawford said. “They’ve basically utilized their inexperience. And if you get a bunch of inexperienced guys that buy in, then you have the experience you need.”

Warner Christian closes comeback season

Matt MacGinnis responded before even hearing the full question.

“Ashton Flores.”

The inquiry regarded any players whose development surprised Warner Christian’s coach during the team’s first varsity campaign since 2018-2019. What MacGinnis stated about Flores reflects the Eagles’ season as a whole.

“Ashton Flores has blown my socks off,” MacGinnis said. “He is someone I expected to be a Dennis Rodman type of guy — dive on the floor, grab some rebounds, convert some open layups and things like that. But he has gone above and beyond.

“He’s so used to playing with his twin all his life. So this year, when his twin (Breydon Flores, who plays for Atlantic) was no longer here, he had to kind of figure out who he was as a player. Because growing up with a twin being on the same team, you’re always like, ‘Oh, I have to be better than him.’ He was finally in a position where he didn’t have to be better than him. He just had to be the best version of himself. He discovered who he is as a basketball player, and he’s one heck of one.”

MacGinnis said confidence was the team’s biggest area of growth this season.

Warner Christian finished 8-13.

Flores, a junior, averaged 9.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Three players scored more than 10 points a night: senior Christian Nicholas (13.1), junior Kaden South (13.1) and junior Kayleb Goolsby (10.6).

“I’m never going to forget the first team that trusted me as their head coach at 23 years old, fighting through adversity all year,” MacGinnis said. “A guy who they know I have no experience, in a sense. But they were forced to trust me. I’ll always remember that team as the guys who trusted the process and the guys who bought in.”

The Eagles will lose only two seniors to graduation this offseason.

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Local first-round boys upsets

• No. 6 University held off No. 3 Spruce Creek 49-48 in District 2-7A. It marked just the second win off the season for the Titans (2-21). They will battle No. 2 Lake Mary in the semifinals.

• No. 3 New Smyrna Beach fell to No. 6 Lyman 40-37 in District 5-6A.

• No. 5 Pine Ridge snuck past No. 4 Menendez 58-52 in District 4-5A. The Panthers will take on top-seeded Mainland in the semifinals.

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DeLand girls drop final father-daughter matchup of season

Celine Vega holds the upper hand in the family rivalry for now.

Her fourth-seeded Seminole girls team beat No. 5 DeLand 50-30 in the District 2-7A quarterfinals Monday. It was the third time Seminole defeated the Bulldogs — and Vega’s dad — this season.

Joel Vega turned DeLand around in his first year at the helm. At 13-7, the Bulldogs clinched their first winning record since going 17-10 in 2018-19. Three of their losses came to Joel’s daughter Celine, who played at Flagler Palm Coast and is now in her second year as Seminole’s coach.

“It’s like looking into a mirror,” Joel Vega said of the teams last week. “... A lot of things are run the same way.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school basketball: Trinity beats Warner; plus, first-round upsets