"Coach [Tony] Chapman preaches the importance of defense, and that's what we base everything around," senior lead guard Tim Lazorko said. "We try to set up our offense with good fundamentals on defense."
Despite losing all five starters from last season's group, the Firebirds are 14-0 overall and 5-0 in the BAL's Independence Division.
"I thought it would really be a rebuilding situation," Chapman said. "I thought it would take a good amount of time to get things rolling. This is a credit to the kids. They worked over the summer on their individual games and as a team."
Against the Griffins, a force at the Class A level, senior forward Jeff Ainsley drilled three shots from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 14 points. Lazorko (11) and junior wing Jack Kalmes (10) also were double-digit scorers.
"We're a bit surprised by how well we've done so far," the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Ainsley said, "but we have really good team chemistry. We went to a lot of team camps during the summer to work on that."
With Holy Ghost drawing several charging calls, Church Farm (9-3) committed six turnovers in the first quarter and five in the second.
"We do practice defense a lot," Chapman said. "The big thing is you have to have kids who buy into that, and they do."
The Griffins went nearly seven minutes without scoring in the second quarter (Doolun Anyman's free throw was their only point) and trailed, 18-7, at the break.
After giving up six straight points at the start of the second half, the Firebirds responded with a 13-2 burst. Lazorko followed his three-pointer from up top with a pull-up jumper that made it 31-15 with a little less than two minutes left in the stanza.
The 5-7, 150-pound Lazorko will play soccer, as a midfielder, at St. Joseph's. He missed part of last season with a concussion.
Said Chapman: "He's a super competitor, has the heart of a lion. He's played well against great players at all different levels."
Church Farm's top threat, 6-1 junior swingman Howard Sellars, managed 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting from the field.
Church Farm 6 1 13 15 – 35
Holy Ghost Prep 7 11 13 15 – 46
CF: Nolan Swiderski-Soto 7, Howard Sellars 11, Larry Cermak 8, John Rodriguez 2, Aondofa Anyam 2, Doolun Anyam 5.
HGP: Tim Lazorko 11, Jack Kalmes 10, Tom Heston 5, Chris Morano 5, Jeff Ainsley 14, James Grey 1.
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019, robrien@phillynews.com, or @ozoneinq on Twitter. Read his blog, "The O'Zone," at www.philly.com/ozone
