Suffolk Christian Academy’s boys’ basketball team had one player that received all-conference recognition for the 2015-16 season, while three other Knights received recognition in other ways.

SCA junior point guard/shooting guard Joel Pope was named to the All-Hampton Roads Athletic Conference second team.

“I was pretty excited for him,” Knights coach Terry Leiter said. “I thought he played really hard this season for us, and I was really pleased to see him get some recognition for that. I really think that by next year, he’ll probably make first team.”

The coach pointed to Pope’s ball-handling ability as the reason for why he got the all-conference selection. He was among the top players in the conference for assists.

Only 12 players received all-conference honors, but 16 players were picked to participate in an HRAC all-star game.

Three Knights were selected to play in the game, including senior guard Michael Cornette, senior forward/center Barton Metzgar and Pope.

Leiter said that for the all-stars who did not receive all-conference recognition, being chosen to participate in the all-star game was similar to them receiving an all-conference honorable mention honor.

Another Suffolk Christian player, eighth-grader Matthew Leiter, gained recognition by competing in and winning a three-point shooting competition that took place during halftime of the all-star game.

The competition started with nine players and narrowed things down to a head-to-head round between the two best shooters.

“He’s only an eighth-grader, so it kind of made it extra fun for him to go out there and do so well against some of the best shooters in our conference,” Coach Leiter said.

Metzgar was not able to play in the all-star game due to a back injury, but Coach Leiter said Cornette and Pope played well.

As for the HRAC, “this is the first year that they did an all-star game, but it seemed like it was a good experience, so I kind of expect that they’ll be doing that each year now,” Leiter said.