Basketball Game Preview: Roanoke Catholic Celtics vs. Virginia Episcopal School Bishops

The Roanoke Catholic Celtics will head out to take on the Virginia Episcopal School Bishops at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Roanoke Catholic knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 16 matchups -- so hopefully Virginia Episcopal School likes a good challenge.

Last Tuesday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Roanoke Catholic beat New Covenant 68-62.

Jayden Johnson continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 13 for 21 en route to 35 points and three steals. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in points. Mason Williams was another key player, going 7 of 11 on his way to 16 points.

Meanwhile, Virginia Episcopal School played a tough game on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were beaten by Fairfax Christian 71-44. While losing is never fun, the Bishops can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 183rd, while the Cardinals are ranked 32nd).

Virginia Episcopal School has traveled a rocky road recently having lost ten of their last 12 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-16 record this season. As for Roanoke Catholic, they pushed their record up to 17-8 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home.

Everything went Roanoke Catholic's way against Virginia Episcopal School in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as Roanoke Catholic made off with a 68-43 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Roanoke Catholic since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.