WYE MILLS – Chesapeake men’s basketball coach Andrew Sachs had a legitimate reason to be concerned early on this season.

The Skipjacks lost back-to-back games to Howard Community College and Southern College of Maryland in December. That came as a surprise to Sachs considering his team only lost three games all of last season.

“We just had two games where we didn’t play very well in the second half,” said Sachs, who is in his third year. “We gave up 50 points plus, which we usually don’t do.”

Now, Sachs, his coaching staff and players may be having flashbacks of when the team went 23-3 last year. The Skipjacks are playing like that, currently on a 7-1 run.

“I think defensively we have gotten better,” Sachs said. “We have done a good job of not turning the basketball over. We have a good assist-to-turnover ratio.”

Currently, Chesapeake boasts a 10-3 record after thumping Essex Community College, 85-52 on the road January 7 as the Skipjacks pulled away in the second half by outscoring Essex by 24 points in the period.

Sophomore guards DJ Earl (18 points, 6 rebounds) and JayShaun Freeman (19, 6) helped the winners to the victory.

How good has Chesapeake been playing? During Chesapeake’s 7-1 run, the Skipjacks have outscored opponents by 28 points a game. That stellar play has given them a big dose of confidence heading into the second half of the season.

“We have high expectations to win every game,” Chesapeake assistant coach Delonte Joyce said. “Before the holiday break, we played Bryant and Straton College out of Virginia. They are ranked number 15 in Division II JuCo. We beat them (73-68) and upset them at home.”

Balanced scoring has been a huge reason for the Skipjacks’ recent success. Opponents can’t just focus on one high-scoring player, making Chesapeake harder to defend.

“It’s really important,” Joyce said of his team’s diverse scoring. “You don’t want to rely on one or two guys to do the scoring every night. It’s someone different every night. We have five guys who can score in double figures.”

That’s something every coach loves and it’s coming from all sophomore guards.

Freeman (15.3 points per game), Earl (15.2), Izaiah Credle (11.8), Lamont Powell (10.5) and Justin DeMaria (9.6) rank among the team’s leading scorers.

The 6-foot-1 Freeman creates his own shot well and is explosive to the basket. He scored a season-high 20 points in a rout over Montgomery College in early December.

“He is one of the best players in the league,” Sachs said. “He can score from all three levels: three-point line, finishes at the basket and good mid-range game. He will be a plus for any four-year program he goes to.”

No one has had better games than Earl. He totaled 33 points in a route over Delaware Tech and scored 24 points against both the College of Southern Maryland and Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey.

If Freeman or Earl is having an off-game, the Skipjacks can rely on Credle, Powell DeMaria to contribute offensively.

Chesapeake is also getting solid play from 6-foot-5 sophomore power forward Ezekiel Edwards, a transfer from Garrett Community College who is averaging 6.8 rebounds and 6.7 points.

“He’s done a great job on the boards for us and we hope that continues,” Sachs said.