Despite his program’s great success over the past three years – a 71-18 record and a first-ever national tournament appearance last year – winning early this season has proved to be difficult for head coach Andrew Sachs and the Chesapeake College men’s basketball team.

The Skipjacks limped to a 3-8 start.

But Sachs took it one step further.

“We already have more losses (10) this season than my first year,” he said, noting an 18-9 record in 2021.

Yet it’s not all gloom and doom. Since mid-December, Chesapeake has looked very much like the team of recent years.

The Skipjacks have put together a 6-2 stretch and the team’s recent play gives Sachs a big dose of confidence. He won’t hesitate to look ahead to the most important part of the season — the Division II, Region XX Tournament in March.

“I think we should be able to host a playoff game,” Sachs said. “We would have to finish in the top four in the league.”

The College of Southern Maryland, Howard Community College and CCBC Catonsville are the only teams in Region XX play with one loss, but Sachs cautions his Skipjacks haven’t played as many league games as the squads behind them in the standings.

Sachs feels his Skipjacks can be competitive with any team in the league with a 4-1 record.

“I have seen everybody play, and I want to win every league game,” the coach explains. “Everybody else behind us in the standings has three losses. Some teams have played seven league games. We have only played (five) games. We still have (eight) games to play.”

Chesapeake has returned to its winning ways because of the improvement of several areas of the team’s play: rebounding, more balanced scoring and fewer turnovers.

It could all add up to a great stretch run.

“We had a lot of new guys,” said Chesapeake assistant coach Delonte Joyce, whose team starts three freshmen and has a newcomer as a top reserve.

“We are starting to play together as a team. We have been playing very well as of late and we will continue to get better throughout the rest of the season.”

Chesapeake’s biggest concern coming into the season: the point guard position.

The Skipjacks lost its starter for the season to a severe knee injury in October.

So, Sachs went with a point-guard-by-committee approach.

Freshman Armani Martin and sophomores Kyle Jones and Marquis McAbee all share time at the position.

Martin, a transfer from Seward County Community College in Kansas, has been one of the team’s best players since he joined the Skipjacks in mid-December. He leads the team in scoring (17.4 average) and three-point percentage (38.5) and ranks second in assists (3.3).

He scored a season-high 23 points, including six three-pointers, in a 71-64 victory over Baltimore City Community College. Martin also sank six three-pointers and finished with 22 points in a 103-51 thumping of Westmoreland County Community College.

“Armani is also a vocal leader and that really helps our team get going,” Joyce said.

Jones and McAbee are tied for the team lead in assists (3.7) while Jones is averaging 12.2 points.

Chesapeake is also getting double digits in scoring from freshman forward Andre Stewart (13.1), freshman guard Josh Rivers (10.6 points) and sophomore center Azim Sana.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Sana, a graduate of Arundel High, injected instant strength, shot-blocking and rebounding since he joined the team last month. He is averaging 13.1 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocks. Sophomore Tom Nisson, a 6-foot-9 center, provides more muscle off the bench.

“We were giving up a lot of points early in the season, but once we got Azim, he is really helping our defense,” Joyce said.