Woodcrest Christian is 0-10 against Ontario Christian since December of 2019 but things could change on Friday. The Woodcrest Christian Royals will take on the Ontario Christian Knights at 6:00 p.m. Woodcrest Christian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.8 points per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Woodcrest Christian lost to Aquinas at home by a 59-40 margin. The Royals have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Despite their defeat, Woodcrest Christian saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Isaac Lytle, who posted 14 points and five rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Michael Carlson was another key player, putting up 15 points.
Meanwhile, Ontario Christian came tearing into Tuesday's match with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 14.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They came out on top against the Eagles by a score of 76-63.
Ontario Christian's win came from a few key players Woodcrest Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Mason Salazar, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 assists. Those 11 assists gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Caleb Jace-Lejay, who went 6 of 10 on his way to 14 points and seven boards.
Ontario Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in eight consecutive games.
Ontario Christian has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.4 points per game. As for Woodcrest Christian, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-9.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Woodcrest Christian has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 32.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Ontario Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Woodcrest Christian and Ontario Christian were neck-and-neck in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, but Woodcrest Christian came up empty-handed after a 74-73 defeat. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Ontario Christian's Cole Jones, who almost dropped a double-double on 25 points and nine boards. Now that Woodcrest Christian knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
